James Turrell Deer Shelter Skyspace 2006 An Art Fund Commission Courtesy the artist and YSP at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

James Turrell: Deer Shelter Skyspace

Art Outdoors /

James Turrell: Deer Shelter Skyspace

James Turrell’s practice is concerned with light and space, and he has been building Skyspaces since 1974. A Skyspace comprises a chamber containing only seating, lighting and an aperture in the ceiling through which to view the sky. They give space for thought and alter our perception of light.

In 1993 Turrell stayed at YSP’s Archway Lodge whilst working on a commission for the Henry Moore Sculpture Trust Studio in nearby Halifax. Whilst exploring the landscape he became fascinated by an 18th century deer shelter in what was once the estate’s Deer Park. He drew up plans for a Skyspace within the structure, but the project was not realised until 2006, when The Art Fund enabled the commission through their generous support.

The Deer Shelter Skyspace creates a place of contemplation and revelation, harnessing the changing light of the Yorkshire sky. It allows us to take time to sit, to think, and to contemplate; an open invitation to access a peacefulness that is often denied in our busy lives that abound with technology and speed.

  • A room with concrete bench seating and a square hole cut into the ceiling revealing the sky
  • A group of young people inside the skyspace, looking up to the ceiling
  • The view from a brick archway out over the countryside with a blue, cloudy sky
  • The view through a square hole in the roof of Skyspace, showing a blue sky with clouds.
  • The view through a square hole in the roof of Skyspace, showing a blue sky with clouds and airplane trails
  • James Turrell Deer Shelter Skyspace 2006, An Art Fund Commission Courtesy the artist and YSP at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

You might also like

  1. Henry Moore – Large Spindle Piece at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
    Art Outdoors

    Henry Moore: Large Spindle Piece

    Large Spindle Piece was based on the shape of a piece of flint with protruding points that Moore found near his Perry Green home. It was also greatly inspired by Moore’s fascination with Michelangelo, which had begun almost 50 years earlier. A Royal Academy Scholarship had enabled Moore to travel to Italy in 1925 where he visited the Sistine Chapel.
  2. Performance of horse rider and horse jumping over Katrina Palmer The Coffin Jump 2018 at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
    Art Outdoors

    Katrina Palmer: The Coffin Jump

    The Coffin Jump was created at YSP in 2018 as part of the 14-18 NOW arts programme for the First World War centenary. Katrina Palmer was awarded the commission to create an artwork and she took inspiration from the role of women during the war, and in particularly the all-female First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY).
  3. A dry stone wall sheep fold enclosure
    Art Outdoors

    Andy Goldsworthy: Shadow Stone Fold

  4. Jonty Wilde Moore Large Two Forms at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
    Art Outdoors

    Henry Moore: Large Two Forms

    Large Two Forms can be found in the Country Park – Moore’s favourite area of the Bretton Estate, where he enjoyed seeing his sculptures surrounded by sheep. The colossal sculpture is impressive in both scale and composition, appearing very different from every angle and continuing the theme of points that almost meet, which appears in much of Moore’s work.