Coachella 2018: When Thrilling Music Meets Sensational Art

While Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Kygo, and Jamiroquai are set to entertain throngs at the Coachella 2018 with their music, art has also become a significant part of the experience. The official art program of this year’s Coachella has many new installations including a shimmering silver grotto and an augmented reality installation. These will accentuate the sun-soaked party in the California desert.

The large-scale sculptures and installations invite the Coachella 2018 attendees to question the familiar while observing art in the desert. The materials, the artistic process and the action required of the viewer, create a visceral and immersive visual experience.
Ever since 2009, where the Coachella organizers introduced architectural installations into the festival, artists have been creating ambitious and Instagram-worthy artworks to add to the experience of the attendees. Here are a few from the festival.

The Art Installations in The Coachella 2018:

1. Etherea by Edoardo Tresoldi

The blurry outline of three cathedral-like pavilions catches the eye of every Coachella 2018 attendee. The wire mesh pavilion by Edoardo Tresoldi ranges from 36 to 72 feet in height.
The three Neoclassical and Baroque-inspired pavilions create a cooling spot for the revelers. Moreover, lit from inside at night, it transforms into an ethereal space.

2. Spectra by Newsubstance

The UK based studio, Newsubstance, provide the festival goers with a beautiful place to retreat. Spectra is a seven-story cylindrical tower with a spiral staircase.
Encased in 300 translucent rainbow-hued panels, the structure offers views of the festival and the Californian desert during the day. At night, 6000 feet of LED lights illuminate the varying colors.
Dubbed as space where architecture meets drama, this seven-level structure is inspired by the colors of sunset and sunrise. The top observation deck of the Spectra overs breathtaking panoramic views of the Coachella Valley.

Photography by: Roberto Conte

3. SUPERNOVA by Roberto Bear & Rosario Marquardt, R&R Studios

After the Bésame Mucho, Roberto Bahar and Rosario Marquardt of Miami based R&R Studios, return to Coachella after two years.
This polychromatic star has 12 individual spikes projecting 40 feet in every direction. An explosion of light and color, The Supernova offers a shade and a meeting place. At night, it transforms into a star that changes color and excludes optimism and hope.

4. PALM-3 WORLD STATION by Simón Vega

Artist Simón Vega, obsessed with history, pop culture and politics, created the Palm-3 World Station with 30 modules. Known for creating sculptures that parody the Cold War spaceships, Vega modeled the Soviet space station Mir by using elements found in towns in his home country El Salvador.
With corrugated metal sheets, washing lines, trailing planting and signs and TV aerials, the structure spans 45.7 meters in length.

5. Display this Oasis by Katie Stout

US-based designer, Katie Stout designed a virtual version of a waterfall after realizing that her original idea of building a 4 storey high water fountain would be close to impossible.
She collaborated with Simaxion, to erect canvas across the site for the revelers to experience the augmented reality artwork.

6. Lodestar by Randy Polumbo

This sculpture by Randy Polumbo, the Brooklyn based artist, looks like an aircraft nose-dived into the festival grounds.
A Second World War aircraft sourced by Polumbo online forms the body of the sculpture. He has then added a cage to the upturned Lockheed Martin Lodestar jet. The cage is a viewing tower, attached to the tail and decorated with glittering disco balls, metallic petals and hand-blown glass flowers.