Seven Magic Mountains, the monumental land-art installation in Clark County commissioned by the Nevada Museum of Art, is no longer slated to be relocated to Washoe County.
The sculpture—consisting of 33 brightly painted limestone boulders, stacked into cairns up to 35 feet tall—was installed near Jean Dry Lake, south of Las Vegas, in 2016. The piece was initially slated to remain at that site for three years. Its stay has been renewed through 2026 but cannot be renewed again, as the museum’s lease with the Bureau of Land Management expires then. The land is allocated for an airport expansion.
In August 2024, the Washoe County Board of Commissioners voted to allocate $500,000 for the museum to relocate the sculpture to an undetermined site in Washoe County. The move would have been funded by American Rescue Plan Act/State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, part of a $350 billion federal COVID pandemic relief package.
On July 17, a Washoe County memo announced: “The agreement defined a strict timeline for identification of a Washoe County location for the art and for securing the additional funds needed for the move and installation. The NMA was unable to secure a Washoe County site for the art installation within the timeline required by the agreement.”
A July 22 press release from the Nevada Museum of Art reads, in part: “The artist (Switzerland’s Ugo Rondinone) was inspired by the bright neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip.” The release also said another draw to the original site is the legacy of monumental land art in Southern Nevada made by Michael Heizer and other prominent artists in the 1960s. “Because of this important history and context, it was ultimately decided that a new home for the project should be identified in Southern Nevada,” it said.
According to the Washoe County memo, “staff will recommend de-obligating the $500,000 NMA award and reallocating the funds to support critical renovations at the Washoe County Behavioral Health facility.”
The commission is scheduled to vote on this recommendation on Aug. 19.