Form Takes Precedence

At Powder Mountain, bronze bells sound out across mountaintops. The sculptures by Davina Semo are placed along scenic paths both visible from afar and accessible up-close, offering hikers and skiers a private moment to ring them as they pass by. In the heart of Utah’s alpine landscape. Semo’s works inaugurate the luxury ski resort’s art programming, evolving into a year-round cultural destination. 

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Situated in the Ogden Valley, about 90 minutes from Salt Lake City, the 12,000-acre resort is among the largest in the world. The initiative is propelled by Powder Mountain's new owner Reed Hastings, and guided by Chief Creative Officer  Alex Zhang and curators Matthew Thompson and Diana Nawi. Drawing on Utah’s regional legacy of land art—home to Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, 1970 and Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels, 1976, as well as ancient Anasazi petroglyphs—the curators see the resort as a space where art and environment can converge. Forthcoming installations by major figures like James Turrell, Nancy Holt, Arthur Jafa, Paul McCarthy, and Jenny Holzer, along with artists on the rise like E.J. Hill and Semo will accompany the park’s 156 ski runs and numerous hiking trails. 

While traditional sculpture parks typically offer passive appreciation, Powder Mountain incorporates activity, designed by Storm King’s landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand. “I like the idea that people will engage with the bells when they are feeling a sense of physical accomplishment and mental clarity,” explains Semo, envisioning a celebratory moment before traversing downhill. “It’s an entirely new context. It feels really life-affirming, intentional, and joyous.” So far, two bells have been installed, the final is set to go up in spring. 

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Semo’s Powder commission is her first permanent installation, joining a collection that will include James Turrell’s Ganzfeld: Apani, 2011, Jenny Holzer’s text-based rock engravings, and Paul McCarthy’s installation steeped in mythology about the American West. The grand opening is slated for the 2026-2027 ski season. She describes the honor of showing alongside such seminal artists with enthusiastic simplicity: “Humbling! Dreamy!”

Titled Reflector, 2020, Listener, 2020, and Mother, 2020-2022, the three bells have a weightless quality, perforated with circles that allow light to filter through and frame the natural scenery—the third of which will be unveiled this spring. They are made of cast bronze, chosen for its resilience and sonic properties. “Bells have been utilized for centuries by people in extreme mountain environments,” Semo explains. She opted for traditional patina finishes that will protect the metal and age in harmony with seasonal rhythms, eventually becoming one with their surroundings.

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This multifaceted cultural and historical symbolism of bells is partially what drew Semo to them in 2017, sparking a synergy between artistry and acoustics in the artist’s oeuvre ever since. Throughout time, the ringing of bells has carried various meanings—it marks time, calls for gathering, alerts to danger. Ultimately though, form takes precedence over symbolism for Semo as a sculptor. “The vibration, reverberation, and power of the bell’s sound, its voice as an instrument, is an inseparable part of the bell as an object.” She emphasizes that the meaning of her work lies with the audience, unfolding over time through interaction. “When I was younger I used to write and write to say what something was about. Now I spend my time making things, and explaining less.”

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Davina Semo's installation is permanently on view at Powder Mountain at 6965 E Powder Mountain Rd, Eden, UT 84310.