Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and former CEO of Netflix, and now the owner of Powder Mountain, Utah. Getty Images for Netflix This winter, get ready to ski through Utah’s legendary powder alongside some of the world’s most provocative outdoor sculptures and large-scale artworks. Powder Mountain , the largest ski resort in North America by skiable acres, has announced that it will transform and enhance the skiing experience by installing major artworks by blue chip contemporary artists such as James Turrell, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Holt, and Paul McCarthy.
The report states that this is not about adding random artworks to the 8,464 acres of terrain but part of a carefully conceived plan to create a world-class sculpture park in a prime piece of recreational mountain real estate. The idea is the brainchild of the resort’s owner, Reed Hastings, the former CEO and co-founder of Netflix. Hastings, who stepped down as CEO of Netflix in January 2023, became a minority owner of Powder Mountain in April 2023 and the majority owner of the resort on September 6, 2023, with a $100 million investment.
I covered that story in Forbes last fall. Hastings has already made waves at Powder Mountain with an unusual business model: half of the ski resort is now private, accessible only to those who own homes and pay hefty yearly membership fees. The other half remains open to the public.
“At Powder, we want every experience—from the ski resort to the residential community to the outdoor art museum—to be intentional, and the integration of art into the mountain is a manifestation of that consideration,” Hastings said in a press release. “We aim to transform Powder into a multi-season destination that blends recreation, art, and meaningful connection for our entire community.” Located above Northern Utah’s Ogden Valley in the town of Eden, Powder Mountain has 154 trails, nine lifts, and two terrain parks.
It also has cat skiing options that extend the range of skiable terrain. As for snow, the resort receives upwards of 500 inches of fabled Utah champagne powder in a good snow year. Hastings has assembled a top-tier team to create the outdoor museum and the visitor center.
The museum is under the direction of landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand, who has done work at the Storm King Art Center, an outdoor sculpture museum in upstate New York, and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Massachusetts. Johnston Marklee, the firm behind the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, is imagining the visitor center. Independent curator Matthew Thompson is the director of the mountain’s arts program.
MORE FOR YOU Netflix’s Best New Movie Arrives With A Perfect 100% Critic Score Trump Reposts AI-Generated Images Claiming Taylor Swift Fans Support Him Microsoft Issues Mandatory 2FA Login Deadline Alert “The curatorial vision is rooted in the intentional integration of art into the landscape and the seasonal rhythms of the mountain, drawing deep connections to the legacy and enduring influence of the historical land art projects of the American West,” said Thompson in a statement. Relay (Powder Mountain) by Gerard & Kelly at Powder Mountain, Utah. Powder Mountain function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.
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Among the artworks earmarked for the resort are Turrell's walk-in light installation. Ganzfeld Apani, initially commissioned for and displayed at the 54th Venice Biennale, will be installed in a trailside pavilion. Holzer will create a series of text-based engravings on rocks, and McCarthy will create an immersive installation based on the mythology of the American West.
In place already is Gerard & Kelly’s “Relay (Powder Mountain),” a covered magic carpet in the beginner’s area where the canopy colors change with the sunlight, and a piece by Susan Philipsz called “We’ll All Go Together.” Other artists cherry-picked for the project include EJ Hill, Nikita Gale, Raven Halfmoon, Arthur Jafa, Gala Porras-Kim, and Davina Semo. Some artworks will be on view during the 2024-2025 ski season.
A grand opening is planned for 2026..
