A general view shows the "East-West/West-East" sculpture by American artist Richard Serra during sunset in Qatar's Dukhan desert, west of the capital Doha, on October 9, 2022. (Photo by Ivan PISARENKO / AFP)
A general view shows the "East-West/West-East" sculpture by American artist Richard Serra during sunset in Qatar's Dukhan desert, west of the capital Doha, on October 9, 2022. (Photo by Ivan PISARENKO / AFP)
Michael Heizer's 'City' project in the Nevada desert, 50 years in the making. Its exact location remained secret for many years, but according to Google Maps, it is a 253km drive from Las Vegas. Photo: Michael Heizer/Triple Aught Foundation
Michael Heizer's 'City' project in the Nevada desert, 50 years in the making. Its exact location remained secret for many years, but according to Google Maps, it is a 253km drive from Las Vegas. Photo: Michael Heizer/Triple Aught Foundation
The Prada Marfa art installation, designed by duo Elmgreen & Dragset, in Marfa, Texas. Three hours from the nearest airport, it is, in fact, 'down the road' from the next location on our list and considered to be part of the same installation - Marfa being home for many artists and their works. Reuters
The Prada Marfa art installation, designed by duo Elmgreen & Dragset, in Marfa, Texas. Three hours from the nearest airport, it is, in fact, 'down the road' from the next location on our list and considered to be part of the same installation - Marfa being home for many artists and their works. Reuters
Untitled box-like art, sometimes called Judd cubes, by Minimalist artist Donald Judd, on the grounds of the Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum in Marfa, Texas. Getty Images
Untitled box-like art, sometimes called Judd cubes, by Minimalist artist Donald Judd, on the grounds of the Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum in Marfa, Texas. Getty Images
Nancy Holt's installation, 'Sun Tunnels' (1976), is located in the Great Basin Desert in north-west Utah, 331km from Salt Lake City. Getty Images
Nancy Holt's installation, 'Sun Tunnels' (1976), is located in the Great Basin Desert in north-west Utah, 331km from Salt Lake City. Getty Images
One of the 51 steel figures by Antony Gormley at Lake Ballard in Western Australia. The figures extend around an ironstone mound on the edge of the lake and up to 10km in all directions. The most direct route from Perth, by car, is a mere 800km. Getty Images
One of the 51 steel figures by Antony Gormley at Lake Ballard in Western Australia. The figures extend around an ironstone mound on the edge of the lake and up to 10km in all directions. The most direct route from Perth, by car, is a mere 800km. Getty Images
The 'Devenish Silo' artwork painted by Cam Scale, in Devenish, Australia. The Silo Art Trail is Australia's largest outdoor gallery and celebrates the region's people through a series of large-scale mural portraits painted on to grain silos, many of which date back to the 1930s. Getty Images
The 'Devenish Silo' artwork painted by Cam Scale, in Devenish, Australia. The Silo Art Trail is Australia's largest outdoor gallery and celebrates the region's people through a series of large-scale mural portraits painted on to grain silos, many of which date back to the 1930s. Getty Images
Yayoi Kusama's 'Yellow Pumpkin' on Naoshima Island, in Japan. The island is known for its many installations and contemporary art museums. Photo: Unsplash
Yayoi Kusama's 'Yellow Pumpkin' on Naoshima Island, in Japan. The island is known for its many installations and contemporary art museums. Photo: Unsplash
Lars Vilk's wooden artwork 'Nimis' in Kullaberg's nature reserve in Sweden. The site is a 4km drive from the nearest town of Molle, and then a 40-minute hike through the forest. EPA
Lars Vilk's wooden artwork 'Nimis' in Kullaberg's nature reserve in Sweden. The site is a 4km drive from the nearest town of Molle, and then a 40-minute hike through the forest. EPA

World

The world's most isolated artworks - in pictures

From Gormley in the Australian outback to Serra in the Qatari desert, we locate the world's hard to reach visual gems

The National

October 15, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Richard Serra's East-West/West-East installation — which is spread over more than a kilometre — is located about 70km from Doha, with a four-wheel drive vehicle needed to reach the rusted steel plates deep in the Qatari desert.

And you have to trek deep into the outback to Western Australia's Lake Ballard to see Turner Prize winner Antony Gormley's Inside Australia. The nearest town, a gold-mining settlement called Menzies, is home to just 103 people and is about 18 kilometres away. Created in 2003, the 51 sculptures were derived from laser scans and represented each Menzies resident at the time.

From Michael Heizer's City in the Las Vegas desert to Lars Vilks' Nimis in the Swedish forest, take a look at the gallery above of some of the most isolated pieces of art around the world.

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Updated: October 15, 2022, 7:06 AM
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