By Matthew Wexler
Las Vegas has built an entire tourism market around sensory overload. With over 85,000 hotel rooms on the Strip alone, that’s a lot of neon, sequins, and foot-long cocktails to keep in rotation. But if you know where to look, even the most over-the-top properties offer an opportunity to settle your gaze on fine art. Even better, most of the time it’s free.
MGM Resorts International Director of Art & Culture Demencina Beehn has one of the coolest gigs in the city: curating the brand’s collection, which currently hovers around 1,600 pieces. I had the rare opportunity to tour several of MGM’s Las Vegas properties with Beehn as my guide. Here are some of the highlights:
‘Big Edge,’ Nancy Rubins
Look up from your phone the next time you Uber to ARIA or Vdara, and you’ll witness Rubins’ spectacular outdoor sculpture made from over 200 small kayaks, canoes, and other water vessels. The artist refers to “Big Edge” as a blooming flower, but if you want the real deal in terms of Vegas-style horticulture, head to the legendary Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, which offers stunning seasonal displays that change five times per year.
‘Oracle,’ Sanford Biggers
Despite a sign that asks guests to refrain from making offerings, Sanford Biggers’ “Oracle” seems to beg for wishes. In response to the references to Zeus at Olympia and African masks, Biggers says, “What we think we know about these objects and how they represent certain cultures is not always true.” If there’s any place to challenge a bluff, it’s Vegas.
Read more from Vegas Week
Walk into a fridge, exit Vegas: Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart turns shopping into trippy immersive art
‘Fiori di Como,’ Dale Chihuly
At 27 years old, The Bellagio still delivers wow factor, from the Conservatory to the Fountains. You don’t need to stay there to witness either, nor do you need to check into a room (though why wouldn’t you?) to appreciate Dale Chihuly’s “Fiori di Como,” located at the property’s check-in. The massive undertaking features over 2,000 hand-blown glass pieces and encompasses 2,100 square feet.
‘American Duet: Jazz & Abstract Art,’ Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art
For a more in-depth experience, head to Bellagio’s on-site gallery. Beehn curated works from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art to explore the connection between jazz and abstract art. The exhibit features works by 34 modern and contemporary artists, including Harlem Renaissance icon Beauford Delaney and mixed-media painter Mickalene Thomas. It’s worth booking a docent tour for a deeper dive into the connection between music and art.
