Destination Art: A New Guide Looks at 500 Permanent Art Installations to Visit Around the World

Agnes Denes, Tree Mountain—A Living Time Capsule—11,000 Trees, 11,000 People, 400 Years, 1992–96, Pinsiönkankaantie 10, 39150 Pinsiö. © Agnes Denes. (project 70, page 86) All images courtesy of Phaidon.

When traveling, it is a given that I will visit at least one museum dedicated to art. Most often it is someplace new—either an institution that has previously escaped my radar, or one that belongs to a city I have not yet explored. Although I enjoy viewing institutional collections, I am perhaps most drawn to works installed outdoors, especially if they require a bit of extra effort to reach. Phaidon has taken the burden out of researching secluded works and well-known urban installations by compiling some of the best into a new compendium titled Destination Art.

The book is a follow-up to their publication Destination Architecture (2017), and includes 500 artworks installed around the globe in 60 countries and 300 cities. The guide is a great resource for planning your next art pilgrimage to a far off corner of the Earth, or simply narrowing down a piece or two that have been hiding in your own backyard. The global guide is focused on site-specific modern and contemporary works from 340 artists ranging from Yayoi Kusama’s city-based collaboration with Coca-Cola in Matsumoto, Nagano in Japan to Louise Bourgeois’s “Crouching Spider” (2003) situated on a reflective pool outside the Château La Coste in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France. You can buy the book, which includes a wide range of murals, sculptures, sound installations, land art, and more, on Amazon and Phaidon.

A spread from Destination Art: 500 Artworks Worth the Trip, published by Phaidon.

Yayoi Kusama, Dots Obsession, 2012, Matsumoto City Museum of Art, 4-2-22 Chuo, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0811, Japan. © Yayoi Kusama (project 45, page 60)

Nathan Coley, There Will Be No Miracles Here, 2006, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DR, Scotland. Collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. © Studio Nathan Coley (project 81, page 98)

A spread from Destination Art: 500 Artworks Worth the Trip, published by Phaidon.

Grayson Perry and FAT Architecture For Living Architecture, A House for Essex, 2015, Black Boy Lane, Manningtree, Essex CO11 2TP, England. Photo: Jack Hobhouse (project 100, page 117)

Gianni Motti, Success Failure, 2014, Domaine du Muy, 83 chemin des Leonards, 83490 Le Muy, France. Courtesy Ardeis Genève et Domaine du Muy. © Gianni Motti. Photo: JC Lett (project 172, page 192)

Louise Bourgeois, Crouching Spider, 2003, Château La Coste, 2750 route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France. Courtesy Château la Coste. © The Easton Foundation/DACS, London/VAFA, NY 2018 (project 173, page 193)

A spread from Destination Art: 500 Artworks Worth the Trip, published by Phaidon.

Cildo Meireles, Inmensa [Immense], 1982–2002, Instituto de Arte Contemporânea e Jardim Botânico Inhotim, Rua B 20, Brumadinho, Brazil. Courtesy the artist and Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo. Photo: Tiberio França (project 492, page 535)

Janet Echelman, Her Secret is Patience, 2009, Civic Space Park, 424 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States. Photo: Christina O’Haver (project 428, page 468)

A spread from Destination Art: 500 Artworks Worth the Trip, published by Phaidon.