Stone 11

Stone 11 by Benjamin Langholz
Interlocking granite pathway, steel armature, 1,950 lbs total weight

On the dusty plains of eastern New Mexico, where the horizon swallows the sun whole, a line of granite stones floats just above the earth—an improbable invitation to step into the impossible.

This is Stone 11, part of Berlin- and Reno-based artist Benjamin Langholz’s ongoing Stone series, with siblings scattered from Tokyo to Copenhagen to the English countryside. Each one transforms the ancient weight of rock into something almost weightless—an experience you feel first in your body, then in your mind.

Here, three peaks of Colorado granite hover in midair, balanced on a precise steel I-beam framework hidden beneath the dust. Each stone weighs roughly 650 pounds, quarried from the same state where Langholz fabricated and welded the entire piece himself. Step onto the first stone, and you’ll feel its subtle give—a quiet reminder that the ground beneath you is no longer the ground.

Langholz builds for presence. He calls his work “a richer form of communication,” designed to transmit a state of being: a natural high, a heightened awareness, the way your senses sharpen when hopping rocks across a mountain stream. In Stone 11, the challenge is gentle—you’re not scaling cliffs or crossing dangerous gaps. A few feet above the desert floor is all it takes for perspective to shift.

The granite feels timeless; the engineering is cutting-edge. Organic surfaces meet computer-driven precision, creating a pathway that is both ancient and futuristic. You don’t just cross it—you notice the air differently, your balance differently, the slow unfurling of a smile you didn’t expect.

Langholz has brought his floating stone installations to the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia, collaborating with Israeli-Berlin engineer Amihay Gonen to push the limits of scale, stability, and play. He thrives in land art’s tradition of bold gestures in open spaces, and Art City’s high desert landscape gives Stone 11 the kind of vast stage it deserves.

Walk it once and you’ll feel the weightlessness in your step. Walk it twice and you’ll remember that the earth’s rules are negotiable—at least here.