Gerlach ArTrail “Meet the Artists,” Thursday, October 8, 2026
“Meet the Artists” Gerlach Community Meeting
3:30 – 5:30 pm, Thursday, October 8, 2026
(before the GECAB meeting)
Washoe County web announcement
Washoe County has been working to develop a public participatory experience through the Washoe ArTrail that celebrates cultural, historic, and artistic landmarks. The Gerlach Trailhead site is being developed in partnership with the Gerlach General Improvement District (GGID) at a site owned by the GGID. Washoe County through the Sierra Arts Foundation conducted a Call for Artists to gather proposals for the Gerlach Trailhead public art.
A committee of Gerlach residents has chosen THREE FINALISTS for the art installation to be constructed on the GGID property at the entrance to Gerlach just past the railroad tracks and before the Shell service station. At this “Meet the Artists” meeting, each of the finalists will present their proposed artwork with a question-and-answer period.
Gerlach Community Voting will take place October 9th – 16th. A technical review of the artist’s proposals will be conducted by the GGID and Washoe County between October 22-27th. The artwork that best fulfills the vision for the Gerlach Trailhead Gateway Project will be selected through this process, with the notice of finalistannounced on or about October 28th. Design finalization and fabrication should be completed by February 2027, withinstallation and project completion is expected in 2027 dependent on the site construction project.
An abridged representation of each finalist is below, with a link to the artists’ full proposal.
Lahontan by Marianela Fuentes
Lahontan proposes a monumental sculptural gateway in corten steel, sited at the start of the Gerlach Trailhead of the Washoe Artrail. The work marks the meeting point between the trail, the community, and the landscape of the Black Rock desert — a symbolic threshold that invites the visitor to cross into their experience on the Artrail. Its two vertical forms, open to the sky, frame the horizon and surrounding landscape, while perforated patterns on its surface —constellations, animal tracks, spirals of water and wind, and ancestral motifs— narrate the geological, cultural, and spiritual history of the region.
The work is an altar to the beings who inhabited this land in the past, the present, and those yet to come. This space acts as a sacred portal separating the earthly world from the divine. Lahontan acts as a meeting point between the trail, the community, and the landscape: a symbol of welcome, orientation, and respect for this ancestral land. Its open forms frame the landscape and the sky, reminding whoever crosses the threshold that they are part of something far larger and more ancient — the same Black Rock Desert that has held, for centuries, cycles of water, migration, ceremony, and collective memory. By day, the work functions as a visual marker and point of orientation; by night, it becomes a beacon lit from the ground, visible from a distance across the dry playa. If possible, and if it feels right to the committee, at the unveiling we could invite the Paiute tribe who still inhabit this land to perform a ritual of union.
ESTIMATED DIMENSIONS Height: 5.5 m (main pillar) — 18 ft (≈ 18’1″) Total width (between both forms): 5.5 m — 18 ft (≈ 18’1″) Depth / thickness of each form: 1.4 m — 4.6 ft (≈ 4’7″)
FULL PROPOSAL: Lahontan by Marianela Fuentes
Gerlach Sky Point by Jonny Rigby
A Gateway Landmark: The sculpture creates a distinctive visual signal at the entrance to the community and establishes a sense of intentional arrival.
A Community Place: SkyPoint is designed to belong to Gerlach year-round. During winter and wet-weather periods, when direct playa access may be unsafe or impossible, it offers residents and visitors a permanent point of connection at the desert’s edge – a place from which to remain connected to the playa, horizon, darkness and sky without needing to travel onto the lakebed. It also creates an accessible experience for people who may not otherwise be able to reach the playa.
A Point of Orientation: The final siting will preserve clear views toward the eastern horizon, the mountains and the playa. Site selection will consider elevation, drainage, accessibility, vehicle headlights and local patterns of light pollution.
Dimensions: Approximately 40 ft wide × 24 ft deep × 20 ft high.
Sculptural Elements: 19 weathering-steel blades arranged in a semicircular formation. Approximately 35–40 ft in diameter, subject to final site and accessibility requirements.
Materials: ASTM A588 weathering steel, structural steel, brass and an accessible mineral-aggregate or concrete ground plane.
FULL PROPOSAL: Gerlach SkyPoint by Jonny Rigby
Dust Storm: Broken Track Vane by Stanislav and Irina Shminke
Dust Storm: Broken Track Vane is a large-scale kinetic sculpture inspired by the railroad history of Gerlach and the powerful winds and dust systems of the Black Rock Desert.
At the base, a recognizable section of railroad track rises from the ground. Fabricated steel rails and heavy timber ties establish a direct connection to the infrastructure that shaped Gerlach. As the track rises, its order changes: the rails separate, rotate, and transition into a faceted vortex of weathering steel.
The upper form becomes an abstract dust storm – a layered field of cut steel planes that appears to gather, expand, and dissolve into the sky. The transformation is gradual, allowing viewers to read both the original railroad form and the environmental force that reshapes it.
The complete assembly is mounted on a central industrial bearing. Its asymmetrical form allows the wind to slowly change its orientation. The movement is intended to be deliberate and calm, not fast or uncontrolled.
OVERALL HEIGHT: 18-22 ft, scalable after engineering review
MAXIMUM UPPER WIDTH: Approximately 14-16 ft
PRIMARY MATERIALS: Corten steel, structural steel, exterior-rated timber, reinforced concrete
MOVEMENT: Slow wind-driven rotation on a sealed industrial bearing
FABRICATION: CNC plasma- or laser-cut plates, simple bends, welded faceted assemblies
ESTIMATED ROTATING WEIGHT: Approximately 8,000-12,000 lb, subject to engineering
FULL PROPOSAL: Dust Storm: Broken Track Vane by Stanislav and Irina Shminke