Light in Nature: North Carolina Museum of Art: North Carolina Museum of Art: Fishers Island House - Softcover

Inside the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA), the light of day and lush surrounding fields have a presence unusual in institutional galleries for art. Overhead, hundreds of elliptical oculi in long parallel vaults bathe the museum interior in even, full-spectrum daylight, modulated by layers that filter out damaging rays. In this gently luminous setting, against pure white walls, the art - including a masterful Giotto altarpiece - takes on heightened immediacy and vividness. A departure from traditional hierarchies, the museum is, in some respects, a single 65,000-square-foot room. Within this spatial continuum, a succession of wall planes, many freestanding without reaching the ceiling, delineate separate galleries. Instead of fully enclosed rooms, each gallery has at least one open corner, inviting fluid movement.

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC, is an unusual gallery for art. In this luminous setting, the art takes on heightened immediacy and vividness. For gallery-goers and fine art critics and enthusiasts, this book offers a comprehensive, inside look at the layout and stunning architecture of the museum. A succession of wall planes delineate separate galleries. Each gallery has at least one open corner, inviting fluid movement. The museum's 164-acre grounds are non-chronological, prescribing no specific route. Visitors are encouraged to wander from Renaissance to Classical to the Rodin Court, prompting unforeseen visual connections.