The weather has warmed up and the ground has sufficiently thawed, so it's time to start planning a visit to Storm King Art Center. This year, the Hudson Valley institution's centerpiece is an exhibit of sculptor David Smith, called The White Sculptures.

Smith has been an important artist to Storm King, where they have fourteen of his sculptures among their permanent holdings, most acquired "soon after Storm King’s co-founder Ralph E. Ogden visited Smith’s home and studio at Bolton Landing, New York, in 1967, two years after the artist’s death." Here's more from Storm King:

Ogden was struck by the outdoor installation of sculpture, which Smith had devised during his lifetime, and acquired thirteen works. Several are on permanent display just outside the Museum Building, while five, too fragile for the outdoors, are on view inside. The acquisition of Smith’s works was instrumental in shifting Storm King’s primary mission, leading Ogden to focus his collecting efforts specifically on outdoor sculpture.

The White Sculptures

looks at Smith's use of the color throughout his career, with six of his huge works placed on Museum Hill, mimicking how they were situated at his farm. In a video, Smith's daughter Candida Smith says she "felt an intimacy" with the sculptures on the farm and a "sibling relationship... They were protectors. They were playmates."

Other sculptures and paintings are housed inside of the galleries.

Another intriguing work that's on view is Heather Hart's site-specific installation which looks like a home's rooftop peeking out from the grass. The piece is titled 'The Oracle of Lacuna,' and Storm King notes the name is a "reference to the gaps present in official, written histories of the Hudson Valley region—gaps that individuals fill and refill with interpretations and translations originating from personal experiences, as well as fantasies." The rooftop, which people can walk on, will be the stage for upcoming poetry slams and concerts.

"The narratives of 'The Oracle of Lacuna' are meant to emerge and transform through public programming and viewer activation. I am interested not only in creating a site-specific liminal space for personal reclamation but also in unpacking dominant narratives and creating alternatives to them," Hart said.

Storm King Art Center is at 1 Museum Road in New Windsor, NY. Tickets are $18 for adults; $15 for seniors; and $8 for those 5-18 years old or students (children under 4 are free). It's open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., and then, for summer weekends between May 26 and September 2, Friday and Saturday hours are 10 a.m. till 8 p.m. Their website gives details on different transportation packages.

Reporting by Sai Mokhtari