Happy Winter Solstice! Not only is today the shortest day of the year and the first official day of winter, it is a great opportunity for an art field trip to a Utah treasure.

The Sun Tunnels is a land artwork by Nancy Holt, completed in 1976, consisting of four large concrete tubes, laid out in an open X configuration in the Great Basin Desert in Lucin, Utah . The nine foot diameter, 18 foot long tunnels are pierced by holes of varying size, that correspond with the pattern of selected celestial constellations such as Draco, Perseus, Columba and Capricorn. Each tunnel reacts differently to the sun, aligned with the sunrise, sunset, or the summer or winter solstice.

“Solstice” is derived from the Latin phrase for “sun stands still.” This is because the sun’s arc, after growing shorter and lower since the summer solstice,  appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days.  Holt took this into account when strategically placing the tunnels, so they would align with the rising and setting of the sun for both the winter and summer solstice.

Holt described the sun tunnels as ” an inversion of the sky/ground relationship-bringing the sky down to the earth.”

Photograph by Laurence Belingard, 1999

So pack a lunch and take a road trip today. If you can’t make it within the next couple days, make sure you see this fantastic work at some point – maybe plan ahead for the summer solstice.  To get there:  Get to Route 30 from either Interstate 84 (from Snowville, UT) or Route 223 (from Oasis, Nevada). Proceed on Route 30 to the Lucin cutoff (42 miles from Oasis, 83 miles from Snowville). Go south on the dirt road four miles to Lucin. Continue south from Lucin two and one half miles, then bear left, going east. You should be able to see the Sun Tunnels pretty soon. Go another two miles, bear right, and go one and one half mile to Sun Tunnels.

“It is a very desolate area, but it is totally accessible, and it can be easily visited, making Sun Tunnels more accessible really than art in museums . . . A work like Sun Tunnels is always accessible . . . Eventually, as many people will see Sun Tunnels as would see many works in a city-in a museum anyway.” -NH

Fun fact – especially for those that took our last suggested art field trip to the Spiral Jetty a couple months ago – the creator of the Spiral Jetty, Robert Smithson, was the late husband of Nancy Holt. They shared a beautiful passion for environmental art, and made this art accessible for all to see.

Happy Holidays to all our friends of Mondo!  As our gift to you, we are offering, for a limited time only, free shipping* on all online artwork. We want to thank you for choosing to give the gift of art to your loved ones this holiday season. This special offer good through Dec. 20th.

Plus, we offer free gift wrapping and include a card.

This holiday, give the gift of art. Let us help you find just the right piece to surprise your loved one. We at Mondo Fine Art hope you are enjoying your holiday season and appreciate your business!

*Free shipping up to $100 per item. Shipping includes packaging and insurance for all works, sent regular ground delivery.  Additional fees apply for expedited shipping.

Title: Turpentine Cello

Medium: pastel on paper

dimensions: 6.5″x10″

These pieces convey so much mood. Aaron has a real talent for abstracting landscape.  He draws you in to these impressionist rainy street scenes with light, color, and tone.

Aaron is a prolific emerging artist from Bountiful, Utah, who works in both pastel and oil. He has studied under one of our well known artists, landscape painter Michael Workman. Aaron paints both traditional and urban landscape  – but both with a contemporary flair.

Title: Indigo Chaser

Medium: pastel on paper

dimensions: 6.5″x10″

If you are interested in either of these fantastic small works and would like more info (pricing, etc) please contact us. Also, if you are interested in seeing his more traditional works, we are happy to assist.

“I paint because I love to paint; I need to paint. I have things that I wish to communicate, and sometimes pictures are the best way of doing that. My favored mediums are oil and pastel. I have always had a fascination with impressionist painters.

I am intrigued by urban areas ignored by current culture. I have an unusual interest in freeways, refineries, and other industrial parts in and around Utah. These areas attract me purely for reasons of curiosity. I want to know how these areas contribute to and affect our world. These urban fixtures create the things we consume and are necessary for our current survival. I see these areas as the gritty source of the luxuries we enjoy. Many people do not see this seemingly absurd subject matter as beautiful. These areas of our own creation and they surround us. I see beauty in these areas because I must try to see beauty in the world, beauty is the core reason I continue to exist…”

To learn more about Aaron Bushnell and see more of his works, click HERE .

Title: December Taught Us to Fall

Medium: Oil on Panel

Dimensions: 40″x30″

This beautiful piece is the latest painting from Angie’s “Nest” series.

I was referred to Angie’s work by a good friend of mine in San Francisco. While spending time in the Bay area in September, I was able to meet Angie in her studio and see the beautiful works in person.

I love the mood of her pieces. Whether she is painting nests in a blossoming tree, or a factory painted with the grit of time, there is emotion in the layers and texture of paint.  She looks at the world with equinimity in terms of beauty and solace; this is communicated through her work.

“In my paintings, I attempt to capture the beauty in the often overlooked. Whether it is a bird on a telephone wire or a deserted factory, there is a quality to such objects that is at once lonely and captivating. My intention is that by drawing attention to such subjects, the viewer too, will appreciate their quiet, unassuming beauty.” – Angie Renfro

Angie was named “Artist to Watch” by Southwest Magazine in October 2006 and was a featured artist in the August 2008 edition of American Art Collector.  To learn more about Angie and her work – click HERE.

If you are interested in acquiring this piece  or other works by Angie and would like pricing or more info, please contact us.