Nancy Holt (1938-2014), a pioneering land artist who studied biology at Tufts University, is the subject of her first major UK exhibition at the Goodwood Art Foundation in West Sussex. The show includes the first posthumous installation of *Hydra's Head*, an earthwork of six pools aligned with the Hydra constellation, originally sited on the Niagara River in 1974, and *Ventilation System* (1985-92), which extends from the gallery into the landscape. Curated by Ann Gallagher, the exhibition draws on Holt's archives and the Holt/Smithson Foundation, which preserves her legacy and that of her husband Robert Smithson.
This exhibition matters because it highlights Holt's unique position within the male-dominated Land Art movement of the 1960s and 1970s, emphasizing her cosmic and concrete poetic approach. By reactivating temporary outdoor works and presenting films, drawings, and photography, the show expands public understanding of Holt's practice beyond her most famous piece, *Sun Tunnels* (1973-76), and underscores the ongoing relevance of her environmental and astronomical themes. It also reflects the growing institutional recognition of women artists in the land art canon.