While we all know about the most famous art pieces, museums and galleries, art installations aren’t as well known. The USA, in particular, is packed with weird and wonderful art installations that you have never seen before.
If you want to know which are the best and strangest art installations you need to visit, BetMGM has you covered. Here are some of the weirdest and wackiest installations you can find across the USA.
1. Carhenge
Carhenge is exactly what you would expect. A recreation of Stonehenge, this installation uses cars painted grey instead of giant stones. Using 38 different cars from the 40s and 50s, the sculpture isn’t to scale, but that isn’t the appeal.
Found in Nebraska, the installation is quite a long hike off of Route 80, making it one of the more remote pieces on this list, but it should still be on your to-do list.
2. Prada Marfa
Prada Marfa is a miniature replica of an actual Prada store. Found in the middle of nowhere near the town of Valentine in Texas, the installation is made of biodegradable materials, with the intention of it returning to the earth one day.
It is stocked with real Prada products, even though the store isn’t open and nothing is for sale. It is said to be a commentary piece on our overly-materialistic world, and since it is designed to return to nature, it shows that labels and products like this have little to no meaning and don’t leave a mark in time.
3. Queen Connie
Located between the towns of Leicester and Salisbury in Vermont, Queen Connie is a giant concrete gorilla holding a VW bug above her head. The piece was finished in 1987 and was designed to draw visitors to the nearby car lot.
While the car lot is no longer there, Queen Connie still stands tall and is a popular photo spot for travelers passing through.
4. Chihuly Garden and Glass
A 4500-square foot glasshouse encloses this installation that can be found in the shadow of the Space Needle in Seattle. The house is filled with sculptures, with the biggest draw being a 100-foot long yellow and orange petal piece that can be found hanging in the main conservatory.
There are eight more galleries inside the glasshouse, all of which display work from the artist himself, Dale Chihuly. With many benches and sight-seeing spots, the large, glass gallery is designed to be sat in and enjoyed.
5. Besthoff Sculpture Garden
The Besthoff Sculpture Garden in New Orleans is a massive and beautiful plot of green land covered in native trees and plants. Inside, you will find 97 different sculptures by American and international sculptors.
While each piece can be appreciated on its own, the park is popular due to how they all come together to form one perfectly aligned installation.
6. Art Omi Sculpture & Architecture Park
Found in Ghent, New York, Art Omi is an art installation and outdoor gallery that first opened in 1992. Covering over 120 acres, the Sculpture and Art park is home to over 70 permanent and temporary installations, with the temporary ones being changed regularly.
Art Omi is not only an art installation either, there are 18 guest rooms and three conference offices on the premises, with guests being able to stay in the park. Omi also offers residency programs that cover dancing, architecture, writing, music, and art.
7. Brookgreen Gardens
The Brookgreen Gardens can be found in South Carolina and covers an immense 9,100-acres. Brookgreen is home to a zoo, a museum, multiple galleries, a massive botanical garden, and over 2000 art pieces created by 425 artists.
While there is a huge variety of permanent exhibits in the gardens, it also plays host to numerous temporary pieces and installations throughout the year.
8. The Universal Chappel
Found in Arkansas, Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel bought and repainted an old chappel in his famous style. Covered in bright colors and geometric shapes and patterns, the chappel was designed as a symbol of inclusivity, welcoming and embracing anybody and everybody.
It has since become a symbol of community in the area, with frequent visits from locals and tourists alike, spending hours taking photos and relaxing near the chappel. With the interior refurbished as well, the church is used as a cultural center for local children.
9. Seismique
Found in the heart of Houston, Seismique is a gallery packed with interactive art created by a team of 65 artists. The 40,000 square-foot gallery is an eclectic mix of art and mediums, with varying subjects as well.
There is something for everyone, whether you like the bright and loud or the dark and more somber. Every piece is a unique item, but like Besthoff, experiencing it all together is what brings tens of thousands of visitors to Seismique.
10. Galleta Meadows Estate
Two hours outside of San Diego, you will find the Galleta Meadows Estate. A once empty piece of land, owner Dennis Avery commissioned Ricardo Breceda to create enormous sculptures to place around the property.
The most notable of these sculptures is a giant grasshopper and scorpion facing off, and a massive dragon that looks like it is swimming through the sea of sand.
11. Lightrails
A smaller installation but no less attractive, Lightrails is a piece created by Bill Fitzgibbon in an effort to revitalize an unused area of Birmingham, Alabama. The concept is simple; he took a stretch of tunnel and covered it in floor-to-ceiling lighting.
The multiple colors look like a prism, with the creative lights bringing life into a dark and quiet tunnel.
12. Field of Corn
Found in Dublin, Ohio, Field of Corn is an installation created in 1994 as a nod to farmers, thanking them for their work in keeping their local and state economies strong. The installation comprises 109 6-foot tall ears of corn.
The field also has a deeper meaning, with the ears of corn lined up similarly to the gravestones at the military cemetery at Arlington in Washington. Ohio has been the center for US corn for decades, with this piece representing the work and sacrifices made by generations of farmers.
