Metaphysical Maze will be the largest exhibition to date in the United States devoted to French conceptual artist Laurent Grasso. Installed in the museum’s iconic Building 5, Metaphysical Maze will take the form of an immersive installation bringing together, for the first time, the artist’s most emblematic films, along with a new commission in progress, Cosmic Drive, produced during his research residency at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.
Conceived as a journey, the exhibition will immerse visitors in a contemplative state that expands the perception of time. The installation will extend beyond the realm of film to include new works — paintings, sculptures, and architectural interventions — forming a whole. In Grasso’s universe, all lines are blurred: artworks are presented without specific titles, dates, or identifying labels. Within the exhibition time appears suspended, unfolding a carefully orchestrated environment. “Entering my exhibition,” says the artist, “is like walking into a forest — an imaginary landscape where you wander without trying to identify every species of tree.”
MASS MoCA will partner with Olana State Historic Site (Hudson, NY) and the Thomas Cole National Historic Site (Catskill, NY) to present satellite programming and exhibitions, as well as the Burlington City Arts (Burlington, VT), which will host a film projection. These presentations extend the exhibition beyond MASS MoCA, opening a dialogue between Grasso’s work and historically significant sites.
Recent works from Grasso’s ongoing Studies Into the Past series draw inspiration from the Hudson River School movement founded by Thomas Cole, and, in particular, from the 19th-century painter Frederic Edwin Church, whose home, Olana, stands directly across the Hudson River from his teacher’s house and studio. The year 2026 marks the bicentennial of Church’s birth (1826–1900), a moment accompanied by renewed interest in his artistic and cultural legacy across the United States.
Together, these presentations will bring past and present into conversation, placing Grasso’s work in a sensitive dialogue with historical figures of American landscape painting.
Additional Programming:
In Conversation: Laurent Grasso
Artist Talk, November 7, 4pm
Tickets are available here.