An exhibition spanning nearly six decades of artist Lita Albuquerque's work in the Light and Space and Land Art movements is now on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
"Lita Albuquerque: Cosmic Land" marks the first time that her paintings, sculptures, installations and films have been brought together in a single exhibition. It will be on display through May 3, 2027.
A press release describes "Cosmic Land" as tracing the relationship between Earth and cosmos, "revealing the terrestrial and celestial as inseparable and the human being as belonging to both at once. Albuquerque's work conveys that the ground beneath our feet is deeply entwined with the broader universe, carrying within it memory, consciousness, and starlight, or as the artist
herself wrote in 2014, that 'light carries information.'"
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"This is absolutely immersive right from the beginning of the exhibition," Christine Vendredi, JoAnn McGrath executive director and chief curator at the Palm Springs Art Museum, told The Desert Sun. "The exhibition really is a way to activate the energy that is lived and associated with the work of Lita."
Albuquerque is an internationally renowned multidisciplinary artist and writer who has been instrumental in the development of land art, which involves creating works directly within the natural landscape. Her works have been featured in remote places in the world, and Vendredi said Albuquerque is very unique with her practice because she does not utilize heavy machinery or damage the land she works on.
The Palm Springs exhibit spans four galleries in the museum. Visitors are first welcomed by "NAJMA Returns" (Guardian of the Earth), which is described as a "sculptural embodiment of Najma, the interstellar, consciousness seeding, 25th century female astronaut who appears throughout Albuquerque's unpublished manuscript 'Genius Remembered.'"
"Lita Albuquerque: Cosmic Land" on Friday, Oct. 16 at the Palm Springs Art Museum." id="92291331007">
The main gallery will house "Spine of the Earth" (1980/2024/2026), the artist's seminal earthwork originally realized on the dry lakebed of the Mojave Desert. This is a piece that was meant to be seen in nature, but Vendredi said her team has been hard at work bringing the outdoors indoors. A lot of dirt and decomposed granite has been packed into the gallery space in order to recreate the environment. Brighter lights have also been added to mimic sunlight.
Other gallery rooms showcase an intimate gold sculpture titled "Solar Disc 6,000 BC, Mali," show the films "20/20: Accelerando" and "Liquid Light" and conclude with "Particle Horizon," a multimedia installation that features a cast of Albuquerque's body with projections of stars that fill up the whole room.
The exhibit also focuses on Albuquerque's iterative nature, where she has often explored an idea in one format, then years later revisited it in a different way. The character of Najma is one of those threads that appears in several different pieces and iterations throughout the galleries, Vendredi said.
Vendredi called the exhibit the most challenging one she has brought to life since her tenure began with the museum in 2024.
"It's really unique in the sense that this is a really super production. Bringing into a museum a piece like that takes very large resources — human, financial and time," she said.
Despite the heavy production, Vendredi hopes "Cosmic Land" opens people's eyes to Albuquerque's unique work in the Light and Space and Land Art movements, and shows how she has evolved over time.
Those wanting to experience more of her work can visit the High Desert Test Sites, a nonprofit arts organization and experimental platform located adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park, where Albuquerque has been named the 2026 Artist Fellow. New site-specific work is slated to open to the public on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Visit hdts.site/home for more information.
Check out our video above for your first look at the "Lita Albuquerque: Cosmic Land" exhibition.
Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com, on X @ema_sasic or on Instagram @emasasic.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs Art Museum brings the cosmos indoors with new exhibit
