Climbing Through Color

When you step into the new Carolyn and Kem Gardner Learning and Leadership Building at Utah State University, it’s hard to miss the mountain. Seven panels wide and layered in vibrant brushstrokes, the painting is more than a backdrop—it’s a presence. A living, breathing landscape that invites viewers to pause, explore, and imagine their path forward.

Utah-based artist Abigale Palmer envisioned this centerpiece as more than decoration. From the moment she read the university’s request for proposals, she felt an immediate connection. “They didn’t just want something beautiful,” she said. “They wanted it to mean something—to reflect the entrepreneurial journey, the unknowns, the climb.”

That vision became the foundation of her pitch—and the eventual design. The centerpiece stretches across seven custom panels, with a composition that suggests movement, momentum, and mystery. The mountain doesn’t resolve at the top; its summit disappears beyond the canvas. “That was deliberate,” Palmer explained. “You don’t always know where your path is going. That uncertainty isn’t something to fear—it’s part of what makes the journey meaningful.”

This sense of movement and possibility extends beyond the main staircase. In the café, Palmer’s Convergence of Perspectives offers a painting that evokes a landscape in transition, where layers of color and form blend like voices in conversation. “Life is shaped by the people we meet and the conversations we share,” she explains. “This piece reflects how different perspectives come together to create something richer.” Nearby, in the elevator corridor, her series Paths of Discovery features three 40-by-40-inch panels inspired by real trails surrounding Logan—from the winding terrain of Tony Grove and the incredible views of Crimson Trail to the quiet farmland of Wellsville. Each piece invites students to reflect on their own daily journey—through study, movement, and growth—as they navigate the building and their broader ambitions.

What makes these works distinct isn’t just their scale or palette. It’s their vitality. “Original art has a life to it,” Palmer said. “There’s texture, there’s decision-making, there’s physical energy embedded in the paint. It changes the way a space feels. It makes it feel lived in.”

And that’s precisely what the Gardner Building was designed to be: not just a place where students pass through, but a space they inhabit. A second home. “This artwork isn’t just something to admire—it’s something to engage with,” she said. “I hope students feel drawn into it. I hope they find themselves standing in front of it at different points in the semester, seeing something new each time.”

The paintings are layered with intention, shaped by local geography and student stories, and even carry the fingerprints of her young children, who helped build the early underlayers in her studio. But most of all, they’re a tribute— to process, to potential, and to the power of standing at the base of something vast and saying, “Let’s climb.”