Artist duo DRIFT presents Meadow, a mesmerizing kinetic installation at the Milwaukee Art Museum, transforming Windhover Hall into an upside-down landscape. As part of the Museum’s Winter Series, Meadow will be on view until April 13th, 2025, offering a free public experience. The installation is suspended beneath the soaring wings of Santiago Calatrava’s Quadracci Pavilion, where choreographed metallic flowers gently open and close in a hypnotic dance, mimicking the movement of wildflowers. Designed with custom software by DRIFT’s Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, the piece responds to the surrounding environment with colors and choreography uniquely tailored to Milwaukee’s setting.
For the artists, the opportunity to create specifically for Calatrava’s architectural masterpiece was especially meaningful, allowing them to design an experience that draws the eye upward into the space’s vertical expanse. Meadow reflects DRIFT’s exploration of the intersection between nature and technology, inviting visitors to engage with a dynamic landscape that shifts and evolves with their presence. Integrated sensors enable the flowers to “bloom” in response to movement, creating an interactive dialogue between the installation and its viewers. The robotic flowers combine light and fabric color gradients to evoke the ever-changing cycles of nature.
The piece offers a poetic reflection on natural growth processes, emphasizing transformation and adaptation, much like the seasons themselves. Meadow is a celebration of impermanence, inviting visitors to witness the constant metamorphosis of nature within the Museum’s grand atrium.
Don’t miss the chance to experience this stunning work of art, which continues to captivate and inspire through April 13th, 2025. Be sure to catch our conversation with the DRIFT duo as they share their vision of virtual reality, time, and their ever-evolving connection with the future.
Сourtesy of MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
