Taste the rainbow at Powder Mountain’s new Sun Tunnel magic carpet art installation

The new Sun Tunnel art installation has been unveiled at Powder Mountain. Photo: Powder Mountain

The art piece is made of tinted strips of vinyl and functions as a polychromatic sundial

EDEN, Utah — The ski industry has been showing off its artistic side to invoke inclusive conversations with installations popping up around the Wasatch Back recently. Powder Mountain joined the ranks yesterday with the unveiling of a new rainbow colored tunnel.

The Sun Tunnel magic carpet, now donned with rays of ROY G. BIV, dubbed “Relay (Powder Mountain),” was created by artist duo Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly, commonly known as Gerard & Kelly. The tunnel adapts to light and weather conditions, offering  some entertainment to beginner skiers as they cruise up on the magic carpet.

Alex Zhang, chief marketing officer at Powder Mountain, said, “Gerard & Kelly have brought such a dynamic artwork to the mountain, giving new meaning to our ‘magic carpet.’” He added that Powder Mountain is on a collaborative journey with renowned artists to merge art and nature.

“We couldn’t be happier to unveil this work for young skiers and hope the light play evokes a sense of awe as they begin to explore the mountain. Relay (Powder Mountain) was a perfect way to start that immersive experience.”

Relay (Powder Mountain) is calibrated to the sun, changing subtly with its angle. It lights up during the day, refracting sunlight, and glows at night from the inside. The tunnel’s art was created with tinted vinyl strips, customized to existing windows’ dimensions. It transforms spaces into polychromatic sundials, representing the movement of light across floors and walls.

The work has been inspired by choreographer and artist Trisha Brown’s 1971 Roof Piece, where dancers each take turns mimicked short movement sequences performed by another dancer on another rooftop some distance away.

Another influencer of Gerard & Kelly’s work is Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels (1973-76), a significant land art piece established in the Great Basin Desert. This installation utilizes large concrete tubes to construct a solar observatory, capturing the sun’s movements during both summer and winter solstices as it rises and sets.

Gerard & Kelly are Paris-based American artists who have collaborated for nearly two decades, blending conceptual strategies into performance, film, installation, and public art. Their work explores themes of memory, history, and identity, aiming for radical inclusivity and challenging biases in public and private spaces.

Powder Mountain will be celebrating the unveiling of the Relay art installation on Saturday, Jan. 6 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. The first 100 attendees will receive a free Sun Tunnel only lift ticket, cupcakes, while kids can create their own Sun Tunnel-inspired crafts.