The Domo

A work by Ensamble Studio merging sculpture, land art and concert space

The Domo (2018-02-02) by Emily Rund, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

Created in 2016, the Domo is one of three works by Ensamble Studio at Tippet Rise.

Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa (2014) by Antón García-Abril, Artist and Débora Mesa, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

The Artists

Partners Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa lead the team at Ensamble Studio that blurs the lines between land, art, architecture, structure and sculpture. Using found materials, their work transcends architectural boundaries and time periods to produce a pure and direct emotional impact. At Tippet Rise, Ensamble has created sculptures cast from the land that map a constellation on the land. Their primitive vocabulary, rawness and geological qualities derive from the landscape around them. Learn more at www.ensamble.info.

The Domo (2018-07-26) by James Florio, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

Equal parts concert space, sculpture and land art, Ensamble Studio's structures of landscape emerge autochthonously from the earth, visceral manifestations of nature.

The Domo Assembly, Peter Halstead, Photographer, From the collection of: Tippet Rise Art Center
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The Domo measures 98' 5" x 49' 2 1/2" x 13' 1 1/2" and was the final installment by Ensamble Studio completed at Tippet Rise.

The Domo Assembly, Peter Halstead, Photographer, From the collection of: Tippet Rise Art Center
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To create the Domo, an enormous mound of gravel was used to make a mold, which was then lined with plastic. The void was filled with 1,000 cubic yards of concrete. After waiting almost a month and a half for the concrete to cure, the gravel was excavated by bulldozers, revealing the sculpture.

The Domo in Detail (2017-03-24) by Erik Petersen, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

The Domo's unique texture was formed by the wrinkles in the plastic that held the concrete in its form as it cured.

Alexander Chaushian at the Domo (2017-07-08) by Erik Petersen, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

Concerts take place beneath the Domo every Saturday during the summer music season.

The Domo (2017-03-24) by Erik Petersen, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

The top of the Domo was covered with Montana soil and seeded with native grass species to grow and stretch towards the big sky.

Up Above with the Ariel String Quartet, playing Brahms: String Quartet in A minor, mvt. 1 (2017-08-11) by Performed by the Ariel String Quartet, Film Director: Kathy Kasic, Composer: Johannes Brahms: String Quartet in A minor, op. 51, No. 2, mvt. 1. Allegro non troppo, and Sculpture by Ensamble StudioTippet Rise Art Center

The Domo (2016-06-29) by Paul Johnson, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

"We want to take art out of the museum, to take down the walls...We really want to open up art and music to the land, and open the land to people..."
-Tippet Rise Co-founder, Peter Halstead, in Cultured magazine

The Domo (2016-11-09) by Erik Petersen, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

Tippet Rise is "home to stunning sculptures, architecture, classical music, all surrounded by wonders of nature."
-Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour

The Domo Concert (2018-08-04) by Erik Petersen, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

The Domo was designed for superior sound projection for the art center's outdoor classical music concerts. Here Vadim Gluzman performs within the sculpture during the 2018 concert season.

The Domo at Night (2017-04-27) by Yevgeny Sudbin, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

The Domo is "a stone-age plinth...the equivalent of a pyramid: an elegant transport into the new life of whatever is placed inside it."
-Peter Halstead, co-founder of Tippet Rise

The Domo (2017-08-22) by Erik Petersen, Photographer and Ensamble Studio, ArtistTippet Rise Art Center

At the Domo "the silence is punctuated only by a sort of ghostly castanet orchestra of grasshoppers."
-National Geographic Traveler

Credits: Story

Photography by: Erik Petersen, James Florio, Emily Rund, Andre Costantini, Yevgeny Sudbin, Paul Johnson, Peter Halstead

Writing by: Alexis Adams

Exhibit by: Emily Rund, Sarah Lanier

Sculpture by: Ensamble Studio

Support from:

Lindsey Hinmon
Managing Director, Programs

Melissa Moore
Communications and Administration Manager

Alexis Adams
Publications Administrator

Emily Rund
Filmmaker and Production Coordinator

Pete Hinmon
Managing Director, Operations

Peter & Cathy Halstead
Co-Founders of Tippet Rise

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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