This Mirrored House Blends Right Into the Desert

By Nina Ruggiero
March 15, 2017
© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X
Dusty dunes unfurling beneath snow-capped mountains, thorny cacti peeking out between smooth rocks, white windmills reaching for the cloudless sky like palm trees—there are seemingly endless details for the eyes to absorb in the Coachella Valley.

And thanks to artist Doug Aitken's outdoor installation, titled “Mirage,” visitors can now see the desert's beauty reflected at every angle.

“Mirage” is a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired, California ranch-style house covered entirely in mirrors, sometimes disappearing into its surrounding landscape and other times projecting it in an entirely new light, depending on the time of day and point of view from which you're standing.

The project is part of Desert X, a contemporary art exhibition curated by Neville Wakefield that features 16 works throughout the valley. This ode to nature-meets-suburbia will outlast its peers, however, staying open through Oct. 31, 2017.

For hours and directions, visit Aitken's website. And if you can't make it to Southern California, take in the views virtually, below.
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Blending In

© Dakota Higgins/Courtesy of Doug Aitken Workshop

Aitken removed the doors and windows to "create a fluid relationship with the surrounding environment."

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Desert Meets Suburbia

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

"Mirage" sits in an untamed patch of the Coachella Valley, looking out at both the San Jacinto mountains and a modern development of desert homes.

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Inside-out

© Dakota Higgins/Courtesy of Doug Aitken Workshop

The interior is also covered in mirrors, bringing the outside in.

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An Intimate Viewing

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

Occupancy is limited to 25 people at a time to protect viewers' "intimacy" with the artwork.

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A Priceless Experience

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

Admission is free of charge.

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Reflecting the Stars

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

Nightfall is a unique time to view "Mirage," when the sky over the valley is dark and the stars are shining off its mirrored roof.

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California Ranch

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

The simple, one-story house is an ode to Western architecture of the 1920s and 30s, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

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A New Point of View

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

True to its name, "Mirage" both frames and distorts the landscape surrounding it.

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Never the Same

Doug Aitken, Mirage 2017, photography by Lance Gerber, courtesy the artist, 303 Gallery, New York and Desert X.

Views of the house change with every passing hour, so no two visits are alike.

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The Perfect Ending

© Lance Gerber / Courtesy the artist and Desert X

The day's final group is usually welcomed in for sunset.

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By Nina Ruggiero