American artist Doug Aitken has spent his career pushing the boundaries of what constitutes a work of art. He’s especially renowned for creating striking conceptual experiences that bring art into the natural world—geometric sculptures submerged off the coast of California’s Catalina Island, say; or a mirrored California Ranch-style home installed in the Palm Springs desert and a snowy expanse in the Swiss Alps. Doug has been the subject of exhibitions at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions; and he was the recipient of the Golden Lion at the 1999 Venice Biennale, and the 2012 Nam June Paik Art Center Prize. On WePresent, we caught up with Doug around the debut of his 2019 work “New Horizon,” a traveling series of events that took place at sites across Massachusetts that July, all centered on a 100-foot reflective hot air balloon.
