kimsooja floods coachella valley in iridescent light with glass installation at desert X
the work is wrapped in a diffraction film that refracts natural light into a shifting spectrum of colors.
kimsooja brings iridescent glass installation at desert x
For Desert X 2025, Kimsooja transforms the landscape into a luminous mirage with To Breathe – Coachella Valley, an iridescent glass installation that interacts with the surroundings. Located along Pierson Boulevard in Desert Hot Springs, the work is wrapped in a diffraction film that refracts natural light into a shifting spectrum of colors, immersing visitors in an ephemeral experience of light, air, and space.
Expanding on the artist’s exploration of bottari—traditional Korean fabric bundles used for carrying belongings—the spiraling piece also forms a connection with AlUla, Saudi Arabia, where another of her light-based works is located (find designboom’s previous coverage here), uniting the two arid regions.
to breathe – coachella valley connects landscapes
Throughout her multidisciplinary practice, conceptual artist Kimsooja examines themes of movement, materiality, and interconnectedness. The transparent, textile-like film covering To Breathe – Coachella Valley features a grid of vertical and horizontal scratch lines, akin to warp and weft, which dissolve the boundaries between structure and environment. As the desert sun moves across the sky, the installation becomes a living canvas, continuously transforming in response to shifting light.
The work also forms a conceptual bridge between two distant landscapes: the Californian desert and AlUla, Saudi Arabia, where another of Kimsooja’s light-based installations is situated. This dialogue between sites reflects her ongoing engagement with the universality of natural elements—air, light, and land—while subtly referencing the Light and Space movement’s historical roots in the American West. Infused with philosophies from Chinese Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, the piece incorporates an East Asian perspective into the lineage of site-specific light-based art.
project info:
name: To Breathe – Coachella Valley
artist: Kimsooja | @studiokimsooja
location: Coachella Valley, California
dates: March 8th – May 11th, 2025
supported by: Ed Campanaro and Alan Weisberg, Ron Florance, Marcy and Harry Harczak, the Posner Foundation, Janelle Reiring, Melissa and John Russo, Roswitha Smale, and Richard H. Wood
photographer: Lance Gerber | @lance.gerber
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