American artist James Turrell, renowned for his iconic Skyspace series, is set to unveil his latest creation titled As Seen Below—The Dome, a 40-meter dome that will become the world’s largest museum-based Skyspace, transforming light into architecture and perception into experience. Opening on June 19, 2026, at the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, the installation will serve as the final element of ARoS’s extensive subterranean art expansion project, collectively known as “The Next Level”.
Turrell’s Skyspaces: Light as Architecture
Opening around the summer solstice is significant in the high-latitude Nordic setting, where prolonged twilight provides an extended atmospheric backdrop ideal for Turrell’s light programming. As Seen Below, The Dome is situated partially underground within ARoS Museum’s adjoining garden, appearing externally as an earth-covered “grassy mound.” It’s embedded form directly references Land Art traditions, creating a powerful link between the artwork and the landscape.
The ARoS dome draws inspiration from the Pantheon in Rome and uses hypaethral architecture, where a central opening at the top allows the sky to become an integral part. This Oculus frames the sky as an essential component of the experience inside, setting a precedent for how architecture can invite the sky directly into its space.
As Seen Below—The Dome Installation
The original ARoS building, which opened in 2004, was designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects and laid the groundwork for future growth through their ongoing master plan. The Next Level expansion at ARoS introduces the Turrell Skyspace, a new permanent outdoor exhibition area, and the Salling Gallery, an underground exhibition space. The circular structure spans 40 meters in diameter and 16 meters in height, emphasizing the experience of seeing rather than delivering an image. The title, “As Seen Below—The Dome,” directly enforces the observer’s perspective and psychologically prepares them for a profound perceptual shift.
Enhancing the artistic experience, Turrell asserts that “light isn’t description; it’s the substance you stand within”. The interiors thoughtfully combine minimalist enclosure with carefully articulated spaces to facilitate prolonged contemplation. Concentric brick paving and stepped seating allow visitors to sit and observe the subtle transitions of light and color. Culminating at the center, the oculus precisely frames the open sky.
The Ganzfeld Illusion
The vertical scale of the dome serves to shape the experience of seeing, making light the substance, rather than merely a means of illumination. By enveloping viewers in monochromatic light, the dome transforms into a psychological instrument, amplifying visual ambiguity and accelerating the Ganzfeld effect, the phenomenon where reduced visual cues lead to perceptual indeterminacy and varied states of consciousness.
The consciously designed visitor journey is not merely about circulation but sensory experience, one that unfolds through a light-filled corridor linking the main museum’s basement levels, past the Salling Gallery, before finally opening into the vast domed hall. Entering the dome, visitors encounter a luminous spectacle where the deep opening above can appear as a flat plane of color, echoing Turrell’s earlier works in which light-filled spaces resembled glowing, two-dimensional forms, creating a powerful illusion.
The Art of Perception and Sensory Awareness
The artist’s manipulation within the dome is achieved through an engineered light system that employs specific monochromatic hues to subtly alter the viewer’s perception. Another striking feature is a central mechanism that mediates between artificial internal light and the changing natural light visible through the oculus. As Seen Below—The Dome represents contemporary art infrastructure that merges complex engineering with profound artistic intent. The installation embodies Turrell’s philosophical commitment to isolating and manipulating light, utilizing monumental scale to intensify the viewer’s awareness of their own physiological perception.
