Beautiful Minds, 2026

Beautiful Minds is an installation in which a programmed machine builds a mountain-like structure. Using a customized 3D printing system, clay is pumped through a hose and nozzle to form stratified, coiled layers according to a shape defined by the artist. The work unfolds over time within the exhibition space, as the machine continues to build and change daily, simulating the accumulation of geological sediments in the landscape. Collapse is not triggered but can result from the accumulation of unfired clay itself, producing an unstable and continually changing sculptural landscape.

The work takes inspiration from Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, a site understood simultaneously as a geological formation, a sacred Indigenous place, and a cultural landmark through its appearance in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Gallaccio’s use of soil and clay reflects her sustained engagement with the landscape of Southern California, where ecological utopia coexists with technological innovation and entrepreneurial culture.