Michael Heizer (American, b.1944) is a Contemporary artist known for his monumental earthworks. After studying briefly at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1963 to 1964, Heizer moved to New York, before eventually establishing himself in the deserts of Nevada and California. This remoteness from the mainstream art world proved an ideal environment in which to produce Land Art, or “earth art," as he termed it. Heizer’s installations in nature have required drastic actions, such as the movement of 50-ton granite slabs or the digging of enormous holes. One piece by the artist in the Nevada desert made use of an over-sized boulder elevated over a 456-foot-long trench, which was intended to instill in the viewer a sense of levitation. Heizer’s works have been featured in over 75 solo and group exhibitions, including shows at the Nevada Museum of Art in 2011, the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2009, and New York’s Pace Gallery in 2006.