The Art of Las Vegas: Experiencing the Latest Waves of Creativity
The first time I ever went to Vegas, it was all about the casinos. Now it’s all about the art—and I’m not talking about the flashing neon and slot machine display units. I’m talking high art.
You might never have thought about it this way, but some of the larger and more iconic properties in Las Vegas are more akin to contemporary art museums than hotels and resorts. Not here the practice of purchasing repetitive bulk art to fill wall space! On my recent 72-hour visit it was brought to my notice that wandering around different properties took me past artists the stature of Andy Warhol, Marilyn Minter, Frank Stella and Richard Prince.
Fontainebleau
In terms of these properties, the new big daddy of them all right now is Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a 67-story, vertically integrated luxury resort that brings an astonishing scale of integrated art to the Strip. Certified by the Green Building, the resort’s thoughtful and soaring design allows guests to move effortlessly among 3,644 luxury hotel rooms and suites, 550,000 square feet of customizable convention space, 150,000 square feet of gaming space, and always, all around, is space to boggle the mind of many an artist—from the spaceship style interiors of lobby areas to the cozy, club-like nooks of bars and restaurants.
Located at 2777 S. Las Vegas Blvd., it’s adjacent to the acclaimed Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall expansion and it naturally attracts well-heeled corporate types. But its massive scale is also the perfect setting for stunning conceptual art that should not go unnoticed.
In fact, the art has been incorporated into the resort’s elegant design, Fontainebleau Las Vegas’ stunning fine art collection embodies the brand’s long-standing commitment to thought- provoking and immersive displays rather than decoration. This collection features exclusive works that enhance the guest experience with unique artistic expressions.
Here are some of the real statement pieces:
Urs Fischer
Lovers #3: A 46-foot sculpture made of aluminum, stainless steel, and gold leaf, depicting two forms meeting, designed for multiple viewpoints. This massive sculpture appears to defy gravity, striving to span almost five stories of vertical space.
The Touch & The Eye: Large-scale murals featuring a headshot obscured by an egg, part of Fischer’s Problem Paintings series, integrating movement and abstraction.
Richard Prince
Untitled, 2018 – 2019: Multi-colored sketch-like figures using oilstick, acrylic, charcoal, and ink jet, providing a satirical take on American culture. Also known as “High Times,” the five-panel piece has an irreverence that is appealing.
Gonzalo Lebrija
History of Suspended Time: A 1966 Ford Galaxie suspended over a water surface, symbolizing modern life and aspiration through a dramatic and thought-provoking visual narrative.
Ivan Navarro
Mirage: Innovative work with glass tubes, mirrors, and lighting, exploring minimalism and the boundaries between public and private spaces.
BREAKFAST
Oceans: Interactive kinetic sculpture featuring a single arch that mimics ocean tides gathered from global data, merging marble and brass-tinted steel with dynamic “brixels.” Stop and watch a while and see how the pieces move. It’s a reminder of the link between natural rhythms and our own busy behaviors. Of course, the gold color will have you manifesting luck during your stay.
Tim Tadder
La Liaison Amoureuse: 38 AI-generated photography blending 1950s nostalgia with modern imagery, bridging Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s history and Fontainebleau Las Vegas’s future.
Guests get to enjoy a diverse range of photography, glass, and lighting art that collectively enhances the sensory experience throughout the resort’s rooms including works by Julian Lorber, Jean Alexander Frater, Kate Blacklock, Eric Moore, Jessie Bloom, Nicholas Biddle, Lynn Dunham, Zoe Pawlak, Jonathan Todryk, Jessica Poundstone, Sebastiaan Knot, Greg Minah, Anna Sidi Yacoub, Alyson Fox, Michael Banks, Rica Belna, Alexandra Lyon, Cassie Suche, and Barovier&Toso.
MGM Resorts
Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art
Yes, artist Dale Chihuly created the gargantuan glass sculpture “Fiori di Como,” which is in the lobby of the Bellagio and features over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers. Now, for the experience of a gallery within the resort, seek out the intimate, 2,600 sq ft Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art—Las Vegas’ premier exhibition space, located in the heart of Bellagio Resort & Casino. Since opening in 1998, the gallery has presented exhibitions of artworks and objects drawn from internationally acclaimed museums and private collections—everything from Picassos to pixels.
On now through early 2026 at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art (BGFA) is American Duet: Jazz & Abstract Art. Curated from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, the exhibition explores the relationship between jazz music and abstract art, and comprises over 61 works by 34 modern and contemporary artists.
This beautiful, joyful, jewel-like show celebrates the shared creative spirit of jazz and abstract art, highlighting their similar expressive, vibrant and improvisational qualities. Ponder the rich history of jazz in Las Vegas, and the often under-emphasized contribution of Black artists to the genre of abstract art in the United States. Discover artists such as Richard Mayhew, a jazz singer and expressionist painter who channels his interior moods into rendered imaginary landscapes or mindscapes.
The full list of artists featured in the exhibition includes Xenobia Bailey, McArthur Binion, Robert Blackburn, Moe Brooker, Charles Burwell, Adger Cowans, Beauford Delaney, John Dowell, Herbert Gentry, Sam Gilliam, Bernard Harmon, Felrath Hines, Ed Hughes, Bill Hutson, Al Johnson, Femi Johnson, Paul Keene, G. Farrel Kellum, MaPó Kinnord, Norman Lewis, Alvin D. Loving Jr., Ulysses Marshall, Tim McFarlane, Sam Middleton, Mavis Pusey, Charles Searles, Merton Simpson, Anthony Smith Jr., Vincent D. Smith, Nelson Stevens, Mickalene Thomas, Pheoris West and Michael Kelly Williams.
All of these wonderful artists have been brought into concert and conversation with each under the discerning, eclectic and adventurous eye of Demecina Gray, the curator and manager of MGM Resorts’ art collection. And by the way, when you are walking around Vdara Hotel & Spa, or ARIA Resort & Casino, be sure to notice the art.
For example, the ARIA Resort & Casino features a large public art collection with works by Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Frank Stella, Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, and Henry Moore. The collection is integrated throughout the resort and includes paintings, sculptures, and large-scale installations, such as Lin’s “Silver River” sculpture, which is right over the reception desk, and Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X” and much more, often in surprising locations.
Off-Strip
UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum
Do yourself a favor and grab an Uber to one of the most diverse university campuses in the United States and check out its Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art at the Harry Reid Center. This is the only free art museum in the city of Las Vegas, with a grassroots approach to the artistic expression of community and identity rather than operating through collections. Its commitment to local artists is regularly on display, as well as the cultural diasporas across the country.
Currently on show are Living Here, an exhibition of artists from the East and Southeast Asian diasporas; and Floreo, an installation by Las Vegas artist Brian Martinez combining different eras of Mexican art history together in an unexpected whole.
Living Here is worth lingering over to appreciate the wide range of representation of the Asian-American experience visualized through ephemera, objects, and brands that offer a heartbreaking expression of the nexus between nostalgia and commodification.
Brooklyn N.Y. transplant Executive Director Alisha Kerlin pours her heart and soul into the exhibitions, and spectators will immediately appreciate the inclusion of queer identity and narratives in the artists and works on display. Kerlin’s educated, inspired choices are as fresh, expressive, accessible, and diverse as the student body on campus.
For more arty, off-Strip adventures go here.
To browse art-focused hotels and resorts in Las Vegas go here.
