Desert X Exhibition Begins This Weekend

PALM SPRINGS, CA - Desert X, a new art exhibition that makes the Coachella Valley both its canvas and its home for the next two months, will showcase 16 artworks throughout the region starting Saturday.

Through April 30, exhibits will be on display from as far west as the Whitewater Preserve to as far east as Indio for the inaugural show.

The various "site-specific" works from artists across the globe incorporate the desert landscape of the Coachella Valley directly into the exhibits, making their locales as integral to the works as the pieces themselves.

Phillip K. Smith's "The Circle of Land and Sky" uses 300 geometric reflectors to merge reflections of Palm Desert's sky and earth, while Glenn Kaino's "Hollow Earth" in Indio takes viewers through a tunnel composed of mirrors, imparting the illusion of a cavernous descent into the earth.

Tavares Strachan's "I Am" in Rancho Mirage involved digging more than 400 craters into the shape of the words "I Am" throughout a space the size of two football fields.

In others like Armando Lerma's "Coachella Walls" the location is just as significant as a reflection of the people as it is of the landscape, with the murals of "Coachella Walls" meant to raise awareness for the Eastern Coachella Valley's farmworkers and the region's low-income communities.

Gabriel Kuri's "Donation Box" in Palm Springs speaks to the tendencies to squeeze profit potential from nature with desert sand brought into an otherwise empty installation, with viewers encouraged to leave donations directly onto and into the dirt.

Throughout the show's two-month run, viewers can take in the art at their own pace, with many exhibits existing out in nature and open 24/7 to the public.

Others can only be viewed during the installation hours though, while Norma Jeane's "Shybot," a robotic vehicle programmed to roam the desert while avoiding all human contact, might only be seen by the most persistent, or fortunate, of art lovers.

Some of the works also received early previews, like Jeffrey Gibson's "Alive!" currently on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum, a 52-foot tall sculpture made out of a wind turbine blade, which references the valley's San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm and Native American heritage.

Viewers can kick off their journey of all Desert X has to offer with a bus tour Saturday. Seats can be reserved at http://www.ticketderby.com/eve... .

Maps for self-guided tours of the exhibits can also be found at the Desert X hub, located at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, 701 East Palm Canyon Drive.

For more information, visit https://www.desertx.org .

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock