Alicja Kwade: TunnelTeller

The Trustees announces the third installation in its contemporary Art & the Landscape public art initiative will be coming to Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, a National Historic Landmark located in Ipswich, Massachusetts this May. Titled TunnelTeller, the installation will feature an original piece specifically designed for the site of Castle Hill’s former hedge maze by Berlin-based, award-winning, Polish artist Alicja Kwade who is internationally recognized for creating works that interpret and question reality, time, science, and space. The new work for Castle Hill represents Kwade’s first large-scale solo commission in the US. She presented her first U.S. solo exhibition at 303 Gallery in New York in the spring of 2016 and has since opened several other international exhibitions, including two of which are now on view, ReReason at Yuz Museum in Shanghai through April 1 and Linienland at Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich through May 6.

The Trustees launched its Art & the Landscape initiative in the spring of 2016, working with independent curator Pedro Alonzo and renowned national and international artists to create site-specific, outdoor art aimed at enhancing and enriching visitor experiences at its properties. The first installation, The Meeting House was created by Los Angeles-based artist, Sam Durant for the Old Manse in Concord and the second piece, A New End was created for World’s End in Hingham with Berlin-based artist Jeppe Hein. Kwade’s TunnelTeller installation for Castle Hill will open to the public on Saturday, May 19 and be on view through April 2019.

“We are pleased to present a contemporary work in this historic and majestic landscape of rolling hills and coastal views,” says Barbara Erickson, Trustees President & CEO. “We look forward to welcoming Alicja Kwade to Castle Hill and sharing her new installation with our thousands of annual visitors in this spectacular setting.”

Alonzo and The Trustees invited Kwade to visit Castle Hill to create a new work of art that embodies the spirit of the place and interprets the natural and cultural surroundings with a nontraditional form of expression. Resting upon the outlines of the former hedge maze once located to the east of the Great House at Castle Hill overlooking Cape Ann and Crane Beach, the structure will draw upon the property’s gilded era majesty, the Crane family history, and the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape.

“It will be an immersive structure designed to challenge the viewer’s notions of space and perception,” says Alonzo. “At a moment of tremendous diversity in the arts where virtually any material and combination of unique mediums are being used as a means of artistic expression, Alicja Kwade stands out for her ability to use raw materials and everyday objects to create bold works that imbue meaning, creativity, and surprising functionality.”

Alonzo is an internationally recognized, independent curator based in Boston and adjunct curator at Dallas Contemporary who specializes in producing exhibitions that transcend the boundaries of museum walls and spill out into the urban landscape. He has been working as the exclusive curator for The Trustees’ Art & the Landscape initiative since the program’s inception.

A press preview is scheduled for Thursday, May 17 and a public opening is scheduled for Saturday, May 19 at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate during The Trustees’ annual free Home Sweet Home open house day. The installation will be free with admission and open to the public when the property is open, from sunrise to sunset. Join the Art & The Landscape conversation with The Trustees on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @thetrustees #thetrustees #artXlandscape and visit www.thetrustees.org for additional details. 

Contact: Kristi Perry, Trustees Director of Public Relations at kperry [​at​] thetrustees.org or T 617 542 7696 x2123