The Fields at Art Omi are spectacular: 60 acres of mowed lawn augmented by endless fields and forest, as well as a central pond and wetlands. All of it is dotted with contemporary sculpture, sometimes subtle, often not – and always intriguing. Bicycles are lent out for visitors’ use, as well as a prized golf cart for those needing help traversing the 60 acres to see the 80-plus works on view.

This increasingly key cultural institution, run as one of several public components alongside an international residency program focused on writers, visual artists and dancers each summer, kicked off its 2011 season with a slightly soggy but still crowded Opening Day reception last weekend. There, its latest installations – including new works by Dennis Adams, Ronald Bladen, Patricia Cronin, Jene Highstein, William Tucker and Lawrence Weiner, as well as a long-awaited reconstruction of a 1975 series of Great Escapelike tunnels and entrances by Alice Aycock – were heralded and celebrated as new parts of the ever-increasing permanent collection on display at this special site.

The Fields are open every day to the public during daylight hours, with a beautiful visitors’ center and gallery, including a café, open Thursdays through Sundays during the summer and on Saturdays and Sundays during the winter. There are picnic facilities located throughout the park. There will also be a very special upcoming event at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, when local artist/architect/theater designer/deejay John Cleater curates a singular “Augmented Reality: Peeling Layers of Space out of Thin Air” evening event, where folks with smartphones will get to see imagined architecture planted in the landscape wherever they point their apps. Talk about truly new stuff.

The Fields Sculpture Park at Omi International Art Center is located at1405 Route 22 in Ghent. Just head for Hudson and go north on either Route 66 or 9H. Look for discreet signs. The site is open from sunrise to sunset daily, and entry is free. For further information call (518) 392-4747 or visit www.artomi.org.