Houston has its quietest show back. James Turrell’s Twilight Epiphany Skyspace, the beloved artwork on the Rice University campus, reopened to the public on September 15 with a completely renovated lighting system, installed under the supervision of Turrell’s studio. Happy City News readers who have missed its sunrise and sunset rituals can once again walk up, take a seat and simply look up — admission is free and no reservations are required.
Built in 2012 in the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion, next to the Shepherd School of Music, the grass-topped pyramidal structure holds 120 people on two levels — the only two-story Skyspace among the more than 100 Turrell has created worldwide. During each sequence, LED light washes the ceiling and frames the sky through an opening in the 72-foot-square, knife-edge roof, blending with the natural light of dawn and dusk. The space, built of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel, is also acoustically engineered for musical performances by Shepherd School students.
The light sequences run daily and last about 40 minutes. The sunrise sequence begins roughly 40 minutes before sunrise — arrive an hour early — while the sunset sequence starts about 10 minutes before sunset, so plan to be seated 10 to 15 minutes ahead. Rice student docents welcome visitors during weekday sunsets, and the structure stays open to the public throughout the day. Before its temporary closure during nearby construction, the Skyspace welcomed an estimated 20,000 visitors a year — a peaceful Houston ritual, restored.
Photo: Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University
