For decades, artists and curators have placed their works in unconventional locations – subway cars, bus stops, disused buildings, public parks. But a ski slope? That could be new. The Powder Mountain Resort in the Ogden Valley in northern Utah now houses large-scale sculptures and land art by superstars Jenny Holzer and James Turrell, and more are planned.
Founded in 1972, Powder Mountain covers approximately 12,000 acres, making it one of the largest ski resorts in North America. Netflix co-founder and ex-CEO Reed Hastings became majority owner last fall with a $100 million investment and now serves as its chairman. It is located just over an hour’s flight north of Salt Lake City International Airport and is, according to Forbes“the rare ski resort that follows the unusual and welcome policy of limiting the sale of day and season tickets in order to offer a skiing experience without mass tourism.”
Hastings has hired a number of influential architects to help embellish the building. Reed Hilderbrand, whose work includes the Storm King Art Center in New York State, is in charge of the landscape architecture, while Johnston Marklee, the firm responsible for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, will design a visitor center. Both firms will collaborate on the master plan.
Reed Hastings, CEO of Powder Mountain. Photo: Alex Goodlett.
“At Powder, we want every experience – from the ski resort to the residential community to the outdoor art museum – to be intentionally designed, and integrating art into the mountain is an expression of that thought,” Hastings said in a press release. “We want to transform Powder into a multi-season destination that combines recreation, art and meaningful connections for our entire community.”
The first round of work has already been completed. Turrell’s installation Ganzfeld Apani (2011), commissioned for the 2011 Venice Biennale, was installed in a pathside pavilion, which also features texts engraved into rocks by Jenny Holzer.
James Turrell, Ganzfeld Apani (2011). Photo: Florian Holzherr.
And there’s much more to come. The team is still selecting a large piece by Nancy Holt, and Paul McCarthy, known for extremely ambitious works (including an inflatable sculpture of a sex toy in Paris), will also create an immersive installation. “I grew up in Utah, and the influence of Utah and its mountains has been a crucial part of my work,” the artist explains in press material. “A central theme that sits in both my subconscious and my conscious.”
Independent curator Matthew Thompson, director of Powder’s art program, hatched the plan along with Alex Zhang, Powder’s chief creative officer, and Diana Nawi, the newly appointed curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
“The curator’s vision is rooted in the conscious integration of art into the landscape and seasonal rhythms of the mountain, creating deep connections to the legacy and ongoing influence of the historic land art projects of the American West,” Thompson said.
Zhang learned to ski in powder seven years ago and the sport has become one of his great passions ever since. “I’ve always found this place spectacular, vast and untouched,” he says. When a former colleague introduced him to Hastings at a TED talk, they began discussing what could be done there.
Susan Philipsz, We all go together (2009).
The privately owned Powder Ski Resort offers significantly more freedom than any other ski slope in America, Zhang explained, because all the others are leased by the Bureau of Land Management, which would not allow such projects.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with artists and the way destination and art intersect in places like Inhotim or Storm King, which are really dynamic and offer a way to recontextualize art outside the white walls of a gallery or museum,” he said. Also inspiring was the famous public art installation in Naoshima, Japan, where Zhang took Hastings and the resort’s leadership team. “Everyone was speechless. Naoshima is the pinnacle of the marriage of art with landscape and architecture.”
Powder Mountain at sunset. Photo: Paul Bundy.
Several other artists were mentioned. EJ Hill caused a sensation in the fourth “Made in LA” Biennale at the Hammer Museum in 2018 and with his functional roller coaster at Mass MoCA. Future commissions include Nikita Gale, Raven Halfmoon, Venice Biennale Golden Lion winner Arthur Jafa, Gala Porras-Kim, and Davina Semo.
And if you love art but aren’t a skier? No problem. Powder snow can also be used for hiking and cycling in summer and autumn.
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