"ጉዞ" is an Amharic word pronounced “guzo” and meaning “journey.” Artist Abraham Abebe began depicting probability in his paintings after ruminating about his own odds-defying journey from his birthplace of Ethiopia to Las Vegas. Provoked by thoughts of his improbable trek to another country so different from his own and the correlation of the role “probability” plays in his new home of Las Vegas.

This year Bachor decided on a series of 10 pothole mosaics called Treats in the Streets featuring different kinds of ice cream. At the latest count, four artworks have appeared in locations around Chicago, and he traveled all the way to Jyväskylä, Finland last week to do three more mosaics including a local popsicle-like dessert called Amppari-mehujaa.

"Using the same materials, tools and methods of thearchaic craftsmen, I create mosaics that speak of modern things in an ancient voice. My work locks into mortar unexpected concepts drawn from the present.

By harnessing and exploiting the limitations of this indestructible technique, my work surprises the viewer while challenging long-held notions of what a mosaic should be. Like low-tech pixels,hundreds if not thousands of tiny, hand-cut pieces of italian glass and marble comprise my work. 

“‘Picasso: Creatures & Creativity’ is a unique exhibit offering visitors the opportunity to dive into the mind and life of Picasso,” said Tarissa Tiberti, executive director of the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. “Additionally, guests will be enveloped by the insatiable curiosity and artistic vision of one of history’s most intriguing and iconic artists.”

Similar to most artists, Picasso drew inspiration from his life experiences. The women around him had a tremendous influence on his art, which changed whenever a new muse entered his life. The various mediums he used to share his sentiments and influences spanned multiple periods. The exhibit will showcase Picasso’s modern work from 1938 – 1971.

He was dressed, as usual, in a cowboy hat, canvas jacket and old plaid shirt, surrounded by gurneys and electric saws, mulling over logistics with a small crew of grizzled workmen. The task at hand: encasing a giant, potato-chip-shaped 18-ton rock, excavated from the Mojave Desert, inside a 12-ton steel frame. The rock was to be hauled 2,500 miles east to Larry Gagosian’s gallery on West 24th Street, where he is having his first show in New York in nearly two decades.

I also wanted to catch up on “City,” the abstract sculpture that he has been working on since the early 1970s, and which I hadn’t seen in 10 years. It may be the most ambitious sculpture anyone has ever built, one of those audacious, improbable American dreams, at the scale of the West, conceived for the ages. More than a mile long, “City” is a kind of modern Chichen Itza in the midst of Garden Valley, a pristine, lunar stretch of stark and unspeakable beauty, an hour’s bumpy drive from the nearest paved road.

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For Mike — for anyone who prizes the magisterial landscape of the American west and dreamers like him — more than the fate of his sculpture hangs in the balance. He designed “City” to disappear into the landscape, using the soil and rocks already there to build it and blend it into Garden Valley. From even up close it hides behind berms, a speck in the yawning vastness, against a snow-capped mountain backdrop. To appreciate its immensity, you have to enter into “City,” to drop down into its own valleys, and look back up at the sky and see its shapes in relation to the mountains. The connection between art and nature is palpable. Driving across Coal and Garden Valleys to the ranch is integral to the experience of “City.” Protecting the whole area seems a no-brainer, a gift to future generations.

“Why in the world wouldn’t we protect this place?” is how Senator Reid put it.

Govan is the one who asked Larry Gagosian to go see Heizer a few years ago, which started talks about the idea of an exhibition, Heizer’s first in New York in years. Gagosian had something few others could offer: The 9,100 square-foot space that’s capable of showing the largest pieces.

“We had talked about this as the “City” project was finishing,” said Govan. “Mike is an artist. He wants to make sculpture. In order to do that, you need a dealer. You don’t just make giant sculptures by yourself out in the desert. Who are you going to sell them to, who is going to fund the construction? It’s fortunate that it all worked out and he got this great show.”

 "Many of the artists included in Recent Acquisitions have ties to Las Vegas. As a cross section of the diverse practices pursued by contemporary artists, this exhibition reaffirms the Barrick’s commitment to collecting art of the present. The vast majority of the works will be on display for the first time since entering the Museum’s collections."