I spent a few days in Las Vegas recently. I actually like going to Vegas for none of the reasons for which Vegas is famous. I get to do some amazing bicycle riding, there's remarkable food to sample, and (believe it or not) there's some great art. I'm a huge James Turrell fan and Turrell fans should put Vegas on their "must see" list. There's a shopping mall connected to the Aria Hotel that contains three Turrells in the lobby. One is visible from the central atrium and the other two can be seen when one heads towards the tram station that takes you to other hotels. All very satisfying and unexpected to see among the brand-name shopping.
But the best Vegas Turrell experience is a little more tucked away. It's on the 4th floor of the Louis Vuitton store and available by appointment only. An Atlas Obscura post gives all the details one needs to know: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/akhob. The work, called "Akhob", is one of Turrell's immersive "ganzfeld" or colorfield installations. This one was commissioned by Vuitton and is scheduled to be on view for the foreseeable future. They said no photography was allowed so I have no pictures of it, but pics are available online if you want to take a peek. I promise, pictures do it no justice. You are swallowed up into color to the extent that you don't know where color starts and your body ends. It's a remarkable experience. I've been in other ganzfelds (all amazing) but this is the only one I know of that's open to the public and in the US. If you love Turrell, it's actually worth going to Vegas just to see this.
-Evan Mirapaul
