Ever wonder what you’re looking at in the galleries? Personalize and enrich your visit with a guided tour. Tours are provided by an exceptionally talented and knowledgeable core of docents. Reservations are recommended. 

FREE with admission

Michael Heizer is among the greatest, and often least accessible, American artists. As one of the last living figures who launched the Land Art movement, his legacy of works that are literally and metaphorically monumental has an incalculable influence on the world of sculpture and environmental art. But his seclusion in the remote Nevada desert, as well as his notorious obduracy, have resulted in significant gaps in our critical understanding. “Michael Heizer: The Once and Future Monuments” spans the breadth of Heizer’s career, uniquely combining fieldwork, personal narrative, and biographical research to create the first major assessment in years of this titan of American art.

Join us as William Fox, Director for the Center for Art and Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art discusses Heizer’s work with Susanna Newbury. Newbury is Assistant Professor of Art History, Theory and criticism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her first book, Speculation: Art, Real Estate, and the Making of Global LA will be published in September from University of Minnesota Press. Book signing to follow.

LOCATION:
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
For location information and campus map click here

This event is presented in partnership with the Nevada Museum of Art, the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art and the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

For additional information on upcoming programs at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, please click here.

Come visit the Nevada Museum of Art at the Las Vegas Book Festival, the largest literary event in Nevada. The Museum will host a pop-up shop, complete with Seven Magic Mountains merchandise, beautiful books, and more. At 3 pm in the Empowered Tent, we will lead “Art, Design, and Publication,” discussing how design plays an important role in museum publications, shaping the way art, curatorial, and academic voices combine to present a visual narrative. 

This annual celebration of the written, spoken, and illustrated word is free and open to the public. For event information and full schedule of events, please visit lasvegasbookfestival.com. 

Location: 

Historic Fifth Street School
401 South 4th Street
Las Vegas, NV

MAP

Join the Believer Festival for a day long bazaar of ideas and intersections. Explore unorthodox mashups, peculiar pairings, insightful interactions, author signings, and more surprises.

For more information visit The Believer Festival.

Across the desert south of Las Vegas, Nevada, rises a large, colorful anomaly. Seven colossal stone forms defy gravity with their teetering formations. The shapes, reminiscent of naturally-occurring hoodoos, seem poised between monumentality and collapse. The mammoth contemporary cairns created by internationally-renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone evoke the art of meditative rock balancing, and mark his place in the history of Land Art.

Seven Magic Mountains is a large-scale, site-specific public artwork by Rondinone that has been nearly five years in the making. The installation, comprised of seven individual towering sculptures, is situated on the far southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard along Interstate 15, approximately a half hour from downtown Las Vegas. Positioned within the Ivanpah Valley and surrounded by mountains, the piece will be on view for two years beginning May 11, 2016.

Mediating between geological formations and abstract compositions, Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains consists of locally-sourced limestone boulders stacked vertically in groups ranging between three and six. Each stone boasts a different fluorescent color; each individual totem stands between thirty and thirty-five feet high.

The artwork extends Rondinone’s long-running interest in natural phenomena and their reformulation in art. The titles and forms of his paintings and sculptures have frequently evoked primordial phenomena such as air, moons, the sun, and the cosmos. Referring concurrently to the natural world, romanticism, and existentialism, Seven Magic Mountains encapsulates a sort of mental trinity that has underpinned the artist’s work for more than two decades. In a new iteration of themes and materials, Seven Magic Mountains creates a sense of romantic minimalism.

“Seven Magic Mountains elicits continuities and solidarities between human and nature, artificial and natural, then and now,” states Rondinone.

Located a short distance from Nevada’s legendary Jean Dry Lake where Jean Tinguely and Michael Heizer created significant sculptures, Seven Magic Mountains is one of the largest land-based art installations in the United States completed in over 40 years. The work pays homage to the history of Land Art while also offering a contemporary critique of the simulacra in nearby Las Vegas.

Seven Magic Mountains is produced by Art Production Fund, New York and Nevada Museum of Art, Reno. It is located approximately 10 miles south of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, Nevada.

The exhibition opened May 11, 2016 and was originally scheduled to be on view for two years. Due to the incredible success of Seven Magic Mountains since its opening, artist Ugo Rondinone has expressed a strong desire to explore ways to keep the artwork on view at its current site. The Producers are currently working on an extension plan that would enable Seven Magic Mountains to remain on view for several years into the future.

Visit the Seven Magic Mountains website and download the press release for more info.

Title Sponsors:

ARIA Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada; IGT

Lead Sponsor

McDonald Carano LLP

Major Sponsors

Banana Republic; Diana Bennett; Nevada Commission on Tourism; Alvaro and Linda Pascotto; VIA Art Fund

Sponsors

Nevada Department of Transportation; Pro Helvetia

Friends of Seven Magic Mountains

Shane Akeroyd; Charles and Margaret Burback Foundation; Denise Cashman; Nathalie De Gunzburg; Mike De Paola; Di Donna Galleries, New York; Fairfax Dorn and Marc Glimcher; Vincent & Shelly Fremont; Robin Greenspun; Jane Holzer; Dayssi & Paul Kanavos; Robert Lococo; Maurice Marciano; Jennifer McSweeney; Katie O’Neill and Chris Gonya; Michele Quinn; Nicole Ruvo; Tarissa Tiberti;  Marlies Verhoeven; Leopoldo Villareal

Additional Support

Fairchild Consulting Group; John Klai; Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Las Vegas Film Festival; Las Vegas Paving Corporation

Special Thanks

Gladstone Gallery

Organized by the Nevada Museum of Art and hosted by the Nevada State Museum, this exhibition features the contemporary photography of Janna Ireland, who explores the important contributions of architect Paul R. Williams, FAIA (1894-1980) in Nevada. Williams was the first licensed African American architect to work in the western region of the United States, designing buildings from the 1920s through the 1970s. His work in Nevada spans from the 1930s through the 1970s. The exhibition opened at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno on July 2, 2022.

Paul Revere Williams’ architectural contributions collectively helped to redefine the built environment of the region. Some of his most iconic structures are in Southern California, and include the Music Corporation of America headquarters, and the renovation of the Beverly Hills Hotel; he was also deeply involved in the design of the master plan for the LAX Airport in association with William L. Pereira and Associates. Williams’ unique architectural creations earned him the name “Architect of the Stars,” as he also designed the homes of twentieth-century entertainers, some of which include Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant.

Williams’ architectural body of work in Nevada includes residential homes that were designed to enrich the lives of all community members, commercial properties, and religious institutions. His most notable buildings include the La Concha Motel (now part of the Neon Museum) in Las Vegas, and the First Church of Christ, Scientist (now known as the Lear Theater) in Reno.

Williams was first introduced to northern Nevada in the 1930s by Luella Garvey, for whom he designed a house in Reno in 1934. Other residential and lodging properties in northern Nevada designed by Williams include the El Reno Apartments in Reno, the Lovelock Inn and Tharpe/Brinkerhoff House in Lovelock, and E.L. Cord’s Circle L Ranch House in the Fish Lake Valley.

In southern Nevada, Williams also designed the Guardian Angel Cathedral, the Royal Nevada Casino (no longer extant) and Berkley Square—Southern Nevada’s first African American suburban community.

Janna Ireland approaches Williams’ architecture from a fine arts perspective. She produces photographs that highlight the intimate interior and exterior details of his buildings, bringing her own poetic response to Williams’ work. Ireland recently completed a photographic project on Williams’ work in Southern California, which includes architectural styles ranging from Spanish Mediterranean to Modern.

Visit the exhibition research website

This exhibition is organized by the Nevada Museum of Art and curated by Carmen Beals. We thank spokesperson Claytee White, scholarly contributors Alicia Barber and Brooke Hodge, and community partners: Our Story, Inc., KME Architects, LGA Architects, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Las Vegas. Special thanks to The Neon Museum for additional collaboration. 

Major Sponsors

The Jacquie Foundation
Kim Sinatra + Family

Sponsors

Blanchard, Krasner & French | Angela and Mark Krasner
Nancy and Harvey Fennell | Dickson Realty
Kristi Overgaard, ONIYA
The Private Bank by Nevada State Bank
Sandy Raffealli | Bill Pearce Motors
The Phil and Jennifer Satre Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada

Supporting Sponsors

Kathie Bartlett
Tammy and Michael Dermody
Drs. Shonda and Julian Hardman
The Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation
NV Energy Foundation
Karyn and Lance Tendler

Additional Support

Friends of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas
Nevada Humanities
NNRMLS
Katie O’Neill and Chris Gonya

Media Sponsor

Vegas PBS

920 S. COMMERCE STREET HOURS: WED – SUN / 10 am – 6 pm | FRIDAYS until 9 pm

Contact: 702.201.4253

FREE Admission provided by MGM Resorts International.

Please note that S. Commerce Street is under construction, but is open for business. The road is only accessible from Main Street. If you are driving north on Main, turn left at Gambler’s General; heading south on Main, turn right at Gambler’s General. Drive forward and look for the colorful Tilting the Basin graphics on the building. 

The Art Museum at Symphony Park (AMSP), the group advancing a future art museum in Las Vegas, and Reno-based Nevada Museum of Art, the state’s only accredited art museum, have partnered to present an exhibition showcasing the most significant contemporary artists living and working across Nevada today. Tilting the Basin: Contemporary Art of Nevada bridges the divide between Northern and Southern Nevada communities, providing a broad overview and deep understanding of the most accomplished work being created by more than thirty artists living and working in the Silver State. The exhibition is co-curated by Nevada Museum of Art Curatorial Director and Curator of Contemporary Art JoAnne Northrup; and Las Vegas-based art advisor Michele C. Quinn, owner of MCQ Fine Art, LLC.

Tilting the Basin: Contemporary Art of Nevada opened to much acclaim in northern Nevada, showcasing the vibrant creative fabric binding the Silver State. On the heels of the wildly successful Ugo Rondinone: Seven Magic Mountains, co-produced by Nevada Museum of Art and Art Production Fund, a dialogue emerged about the future of visual arts across the state. To further develop that conversation, Nevada Museum of Art and members from the Seven Magic Mountains Las Vegas committee envisioned an exhibition that would look inward, and celebrate the serious work being generated by talented artists spanning the Great Basin. Those discussions led Quinn and Northrup to curate Tilting the Basin. Concurrently, The Art Museum at Symphony Park effort was underway in Las Vegas, and AMSP president Katie O’Neill, along with Nevada Museum of Art Executive Director and CEO David Walker, crafted a plan to bring the exhibition to Las Vegas.

Tilting the Basin highlights the work of six artists in depth, showing several examples from each in a variety of media. Featured artists include Galen Brown, Justin Favela, Katie Lewis, David Ryan, Brent Sommerhauser, and Rachel Stiff. The remaining artists’ work gives visitors a wide-ranging picture of the art being created across Nevada today, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, mixed media, street art, installation, sound performance, fiber arts and new media. Some work will live exclusively on social media; others, exclusively as a street mural.

Northrup and Quinn sought to bring together Northern and Southern Nevada artists whose work has not been prominently displayed at the Museum in the past. Exhibition artists include:

Chris Bauder; Megan Berner; Rebekah Bogard; Mark Brandvik; Galen Brown; Erik Burke; JW Caldwell; Nate Clark; Tim Conder; Matthew Couper; Joseph DeLappe + Pete Froslie; Gig Depio; Russell Dudley; Jeffrey Erickson; Justin Favela; Sush Machida Gaikotsu; Jen Graham; Ahren Hertel; Brent Holmes; Katty Hoover; Shawn Hummel; Eunkang Koh; Wendy Kveck; Nick Larsen; Katie Lewis; Sarah Lillegard; JK Russ; David Ryan; David Sanchez Burr; Sean Slattery; Brent Sommerhauser; Omar Pierce; Krystal Ramirez; Rachel Stiff

During the show, AMSP and Nevada Museum of Art will host several public and educational programs designed to foster community dialogue surrounding the various exhibition themes, including what it means to consider a future, permanent art museum in Las Vegas. Those events are listed below.

Download the Press Release.

Premier Sponsors

Public School 702; Stacie Mathewson and Doors to Recovery

Lead Sponsors

MGM Resorts International; Wayne and Miriam Prim

Major Sponsors

Jacqueline Black; Xibit Solutions

Supporting Sponsors

Steven Molasky; Maureen Mullarkey and Steve Miller; Nevada Arts Council; The Private Bank by Nevada State Bank

Sponsors

Kathie Bartlett; Elaine Cardinale; Barbara and Tad Danz; Dolan Law, LLC; The Ogden and Juhl Condominiums; Tammy M. and Brian E. Riggs; Sari and Ian Rogoff

Lead Media Sponsor

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Media Sponsors

Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations; Juxtapoz Magazine; Lamar Advertising; Nevada Magazine