The Inn at Honey Run is excited to announce two new additions to its rapidly growing Open Air Art Museum!
Founded in 2015, the region’s only open air art museum showcases original works from local and regional artists of various backgrounds, mediums, and disciplines and is spread throughout 56 acres of lush forest and rolling hillsides.
The first installation is a 90-foot mural slated for completion this fall by Columbus artist Mandi Caskey. Caskey is a muralist and street artist who most recently came to be known for her observation deck mural on the 40th floor of the Rhodes State Office Tower earlier this year. Caskey seeks to create artwork that contrasts with the serene forest that surrounds the Open Air Art Museum.
“One of the most beautiful sights to paint is light refraction in water, probably one of the hardest to do as well. But this painting won’t illustrate any gore or pain; it’s more about the light, color, shapes, and raw emotion that will be captured,” Caskey described.
Construction of the massive wall was completed in July, and Caskey is scheduled to hold a residency at The Inn in September and complete the mural by early October.
“In the end, when people walk upon it, it’ll be a revelation of sorts – a journey of serenity encountering its perfect counterpart, chaos,” said Caskey.
Following the completion of Caskey’s 90-foot long mural, reaching 22-feet at its highest point, will be an installation from the winners of The Inn at Honey Run’s GCAC Off the Grid Art Installation Contest which took place earlier this summer. The piece will be a collaboration by three Columbus architects – Brian Sell, Joel Burke, and Jim Lehnert.
The installation will use 365 recycled glass discs in the shape of leaves woven into a steel frame to form a tall, cylindrical, organic tree-like structure and create colorful reflections of light along the Open Air Art Museum trail.
“Like the visitors of the museum, each disk is unique and special, but as a whole, they create a community that interacts with the changing light, seasonal colors and the glistening of the periodic rain. Our piece is meant to simultaneously blend into the rich colors of the forest beyond while simultaneously surprising the visitors – causing them a moment of pause and reflection,” the artists explained.
The piece is scheduled to begin in early 2018. Brian Sell recently won the Nelson Mandela Memorial design competition (currently fabricated) and has experience as a concrete form carpenter and finisher. Joel Burke is a talented conceptual thinker and designer with experience designing and constructing tree-specific treehouses. Jim Lehnert is an experienced detail-oriented architect and glass artist interested in exploring natural glass coloration methods.
To learn more about the Open Air Art Museum at The Inn at Honey Run, visit: https://www.innathoneyrun.com/open-air-art-museum/