Desert X, a recurring celebration of art, culture, community and the desert landscape, is taking place in Coachella Valley, Calif. now through May 7. This year’s exhibition highlights 12 acclaimed international artists through meaningful public art installations that explore the current environmental and social issues of our world.
Drawing from the powerful and tenacious role of water in the desert and across a diverse range of landscapes, Desert X 2023 celebrates the interconnectedness of life on our planet and speaks to the importance of maintaining healthy communities and a healthy climate.
“I am inspired by water cycles, how water moves across solid, liquid, and gas states, and I hope that the show will help us imagine how our energy has a transference far beyond what we see just in front of us in our own localities in the here and now,” says Desert X Co-curator Diana Campbell in an interview. “How can art be an instrument of self-awareness, and help us sense our individual impact to understand the power of what that collective impact could be?”
Following this theme, Desert X 2023 artists have created art ranging in many different styles and designs that tell important stories and encourage visitors to think about how we live in, design and take care of our environments.
Artists include Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio who have created a to-scale sculpture of a blue whale heart that metabolizes and creates energy and clean water; Mario García Torrres, whose Searching for the Sky (While Maintaining Equilibrium) exhibit leads viewers to contemplate the “Wild West” culture across both Mexican and American borders; and Marina Tabassum, who uses an example of a modular mobile home to speak to the importance of using local knowledge and architecture to enable life in some of the most extreme climates.
Desert X 2023 also includes moving work from Rana Begum, Gerald Clarke, Paloma Contreras Lomas, Torkwase Dyson, Hylozoic/Desires, Matt Johnson, Tyre Nichols, Tschabalala Self and Héctor Zamora.
The Desert X 2023 exhibition is free and now open to the public. To learn more about Desert X 2023 and to read the bios and inspiration behind each artist, click here.
Photos courtesy Desert X
