Installation view of Sanford Biggers, “Unsui (Mirror).” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Much like a canvas, the desert provides a vast expanse and, with it, seemingly endless possibilities. This philosophy is one that guides Desert X, a recurring site-specific, international art exhibition. Now celebrating its fifth edition, Desert X returns to California’s Coachella Valley with 11 installations from a global selection of artists, such as Cannupa Hanska Luger, Kimsooja, Ronald Rael, and Muhannad Shono.
Curated by Neville Wakefield and Kaitlin Garcia Maestas, this year’s Desert X exhibition considers the vital, and at times fraught, relationship between nature and humanity. These installations assume material, architectural forms while also confronting the “immaterial” and “nonlinear” narratives of the surrounding landscape, per a Desert X statement.
“Architecture is the adopted form of many of the projects, [whereas] elusive forms of wind and light signal the transformative effects not just of humans but of nature upon the landscape,” Desert X organizers write.
Unsui (Mirror) by Sanford Biggers, for instance, features a cluster of cloud-shaped sculptures, each adorned with glittering sequins that reflect the desert sky. Towering over the rugged terrain, these clouds catch beads of sunlight, appearing weightless and buoyant to those that pass below. Unsui (Mirror), whose name in Japanese translates to “clouds and water,” proposes a striking juxtaposition, one between light and shadow, sand and water, sky and earth.
The pioneering land artist Agnes Denes creates a similar dialogue with The Living Pyramid, which was originally installed at Sunnylands Center & Gardens in November 2024. Monumental, both in size and concept, the sculpture assumes a pyramid structure, its tiers dotted with vibrant flower buds, leaves, and cacti. This vegetation is all native to the region and, since being installed a few months ago, has already evolved in shape and size, offering an intimate glimpse into plants and their natural growth across time. Teeming with living organisms, the pyramid is animated, constantly shifting in appearance.
Sarah Meyohas also plays with movement in Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams. The immersive installation gently winds through the sand like a white snake and showcases light patterns, or “caustics,” that are formed by the refraction of light through curved surfaces. Meyohas supplements this natural phenomenon with panels that visitors can manipulate to reveal visual illusions, resembling everything from words and patterns to ripples and mirages. The effect, Desert X writes, “stir[s] a longing for the desert’s ever-present water.”
“Guided by the belief that art has the power to transform, heal, and inform, a remarkable constellation of works by artists from around the world invites new understanding, hope, and alternative perspectives on vital issues that affect our communities and environments,” Jenny Gil, the executive director of Desert X, shares in a statement.
Wakefield, the exhibition’s co-curator, adds: “Time, light, and space permeate every aspect of these works, but so too does an urgency to find new sustainable approaches to living in an increasingly imperiled world.”
Desert X will be open through May 11, 2025, in Coachella Valley, CA. To learn more about this year’s installations, visit the Desert X website.
Desert X, a site-specific art exhibition, returns to California’s Coachella Valley with 11 installations by a global range of artists.
Installation view of Sarah Meyohas, “Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Sarah Meyohas, “Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Sarah Meyohas, “Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Ronald Rael, “Adobe Oasis.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Ronald Rael, “Adobe Oasis.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
This year’s edition explores the vital relationship between nature and humanity through architectural forms and immaterial phenomena like light and water.
Installation view of Agnes Denes, “The Living Pyramid,” at Sunnylands Center & Gardens. (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Agnes Denes, “The Living Pyramid,” at Sunnylands Center & Gardens. (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Agnes Denes, “The Living Pyramid,” at Sunnylands Center & Gardens. (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Cannupa Hanska Luger, “G. H. O. S. T. Ride (Generative Habitation Operating System Technology).” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Alison Saar, “Soul Service Station.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Alison Saar, “Soul Service Station.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Each featured installation responds to the surrounding desert landscape in innovative ways, whether it be through immersive light panels or living pyramids.
Installation view of Jose Dávila, “The act of being together.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Jose Dávila, “The act of being together.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Raphael Hefti, “Five things you can’t wear on TV.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Raphael Hefti, “Five things you can’t wear on TV.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Muhannad Shono, “What Remains.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)
Installation view of Muhannad Shono, “What Remains.” (Photo: Lance Gerber)