A DesertX year is always a good year. There’s something uniquely captivating about the monumental art that emerges from the stark, vast beauty of the Coachella Valley desert. This year’s show was another amazing display that…per usual…left me hungry for more. Two trips out and countless memories later, I’m sharing my five favorite DesertX 2025 installations. Each one is a reminder how powerful creativity can thrive even in the harshest environments.
Photos by Create with Gusto
To Breathe | Kimsooja
To Breathe is a shimmering glass installation in a spiral formation that changes with the light around it. Covered in a special film, the structures panels bend sunlight into shifting rainbows in an ever-changing play of color. The piece connects thoughtfully with the desert landscape creating a fanciful conversation between art and nature. Being inside this installation felt like stepping into a dream. It was peaceful, colorful, and left me full of wonder. It’s a simple yet powerful display of how light can transform a space.
Unsui (Mirror) | Sanford Biggers
Unsui features two cloud shaped towering sculptures covered in sequins that glisten in the open desert sky. Inspired by the Buddhist idea of “unsui,” which means “clouds and water,” the piece explores themes of freedom, flow, and connection. Their shimmering forms are both otherworldly and deeply grounded. Unsui is both playful and profound and the way the sculptures catch the light makes them feel alive.
Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams | Sarah Meyohas
Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams is an interactive installation that uses sunlight and mirrors to create moving patterns of light that shift throughout the day. Like a modern take on an ancient sundial, it invites you to slow down, watch the light change, and reflect on how fleeting time really is. The installation itself is minimal yet striking, with sleek white sweeping forms painted across the sand. The changing light turns something as everyday as sunlight into an experience that’s thoughtful and poetic.
Plotting Rest | Kapwani Kiwanga
Plotting Rest is a pavilion-like structure with a delicate lattice roof inspired by the “flying geese” quilting pattern. Geometric forms of repeating triangular and circular shapes rise from the ground to create sculptural pillars that support the roof, blending architectural strength with a quilt-like rhythm. Its design invites visitors to pause and reflect on the journeys that shape our lives. Plotting Rest felt like a quiet refuge with layers of meaning stitched into its form. The structure is both calming and thought-provoking and was a welcome sanctuary amid its perfect open desert placement.
The Living Pyramid | Agnes Denes
The Living Pyramid is a monumental earthwork rising from the grounds of Sunnylands Center & Gardens. Built from layers of soil and planted with native vegetation, the pyramid grows, changes and blooms over time. The structure is both sculptural and organic and reminds us that beauty often lies in change. It was striking yet serene and is never the same twice. Each visit offers a new expression of growth and color.
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