Netflix Founder to Launch a Skiable Art Museum in Utah
James Peak Snowboarder, Powder Mountain. Photo: Tristan Sadler.
Utah’s Powder Mountain has announced ambitious plans for a new art destination that you can visit on skis in the winter and by hiking or mountain biking in the summer.
James Turrell‘s walk-in light installation Ganzfeld Apani (2011) will be installed in a new trailside pavilion, Jenny Holzer will engrave texts on rock, and Paul McCarthy will create an installation rooted in the mythology of the American West.
EJ Hill, who presented a functional roller coaster at MASS MOCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, in 2022, will create a design for two new ski lifts.
Other artists creating works for the ski resort include Arthur Jafa, Nikita Gale, and Gala Porras-Kim.
Selected artworks including the EJ Hill commission will be on view from the 2024–2025 ski season, with a grand opening planned for 2026.
Powder Mountain’s arts programme was conceived by Director Matthew Thompson, Chief Creative Officer Alex Zhang, and independent curator Diana Nawi, who was named curator of contemporary art at LACMA in July.
‘The curatorial vision is rooted in the intentional integration of art into the landscape and the seasonal rhythms of the mountain, drawing deep connections to the legacy and enduring influence of the historical land art projects of the American West,’ Thompson said.
‘We want to empower a diverse and intergenerational range of artists to create ambitious experiences in the landscape that broaden the story of land art and expand its possibilities,’ he said.
Established in 1972, Powder Mountain, which has some 156 ski runs, was recently purchased by Netflix co-founder and former CEO Reed Hastings.
In a statement, Hasting said, ‘at Powder, we want every experience—from the ski resort to the residential community to the outdoor art museum—to be intentional, and the integration of art into the mountain is a manifestation of that consideration.’
Reed Hilderbrand, who worked on Storm King Art Center, are the project’s landscape architects while Johnston Marklee is designing the visitor centre. —[O]
Main image: James Peak Snowboarder, Powder Mountain. Photo: Tristan Sadler.
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