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Prosperity in Aspen
God, I miss using a certain outdated set of cliches: “buoyant sales,” “high-flying collectors,” “flowing champagne,” “paintings flying off the wall.” Were we ever so beautiful? These little darlings of the art media have been gathering dust since the market downturn. But just in case I packed them in my luggage to capture the scene in aspen during their art week. Good news: The dream of the 2021 art market is alive and well there.
Or at least that was the gossip among artists in popular local bars. Casa Tua And Clark’s Oyster BarFor those who did not make it to the Rocky Mountains this year, conversations generally revolved around one of two things: How much better the quality of the brand new Aspen Art Fair is as Aspen Intersectionand, perhaps even more pronounced, the Aspen Art MuseumThe new director Nicola Leesand how it takes the museum in an exciting direction.
This may sound like hot air, but it isn’t. Let’s start with point one.
Over the last five years, Intersect has hosted an annual Aspen Ice Garden Ice Rink – is the art fair most associated with Aspen. This year Rebecca Hoffman and gallery owner Robert ChaseOwner of the local Hexton Gallerybrought several galleries to the Tony Hotel Jerome for the inaugural edition of the Aspen Art Fair.
“In Aspen, it really must feel like an adult art summer camp,” Hoffmann, who had been leading hikes in the mountains for collectors all week, told me. And how has that summer camp atmosphere paid off? “It’s exceeded my expectations,” she beamed. “People are doing great business.”
Artist Dustin Yellin and Aspen Art Fair co-founder Bob Chase fist bump at the Hotel Jerome. Zach Hilty/BFA.com.
“It’s an upgrade from the ice rink,” Gmurzynska Gallerydirector Lucas Bscher Let us say it clearly. He was just about to Marjorie Strider Painting for 150,000 US dollars, and did not flinch when collectors took photos of her putting her hand on a Joan Miro Sculpture with a handprint in it. Next door, Perrotin was peddling Paola Pivi Sculptures for 90,000 US dollarsand a Nick Doyle Denim wall piece for 32,000 US dollars.
The most expensive work of art that was sold to my knowledge was a sculpture by Fernando Botero for 800,000 US dollars in the Italian gallery SecciSecci told me he had been thinking about coming to Aspen for years, and the increased quality at the show at the Hotel Jerome convinced him to go. “I was looking at Aspen in general because there are a lot of collectors and high net worth individuals there. But I wasn’t sure about the quality of the other show,” he said. “When Becca invited us here and I saw that the quality was significant, I thought it was the right time.”
Even at a lower price, the artworks were sold out. Los AngelesGallery owner Carly Packer told me that she sold six paintings of poodles from Adam Stamp for between 4,000 US dollars And $8,000 to a mix of Aspen locals and collectors who flew in for the fair.”“I think it’s difficult to break into this city, both socially and sales-wise,” she said. “But we’ve been doing it for a while, so it’s natural for us to be here and we enjoy it.”
These brisk sales (uuh, that felt good) are unusual compared to everything else I’ve heard about art sales this summer. It seems like a smart move to take advantage of a city so wealthy that it’s virtually impervious to the economic climate of the rest of the country.
There is no better proof than ArtCrushthe annual gala in aid of the Aspen Art MuseumMany gallery owners who did not exhibit at the fair came to the gala only to support works donated to the live auction and to interact with local clientele – another advantageous move. Money simply flew through the tent on the evening of the gala.
A live auction led by Christie’s brought incredible results. A sculpture by Kennedy Yanko sold for 190,000 US dollarsA Jacqueline Humphries Piece went for 400,000 US dollarsand my favorite, Kathleen Ryan‘s rotting lemon (my favorite piece of the auction) was sold for 280,000 US dollars“If you don’t like lemonade, just use a lemon,” clearingfounder Olivier Babin voiced into the microphone as it was sold.
I heard that for a table alone at the event 200,000 US dollars. At some point during this rush of sales, the auctioneer, Adrian Meyermade the following strange appeal to the crowd: “Come, there are people who are starving!” Overall, the event brought in a whopping 4.3 million US dollars for the small, non-collecting museum. To put this in perspective: The latest Hammer Museum Gala broke his own records by 3.6 million US dollars Earlier this summer, and the Whitney just over 5 million US dollars at the fundraiser for their gala that same week.
Be that as it may, their funds are certainly being spent quite elegantly. Their new director, the aforementionedYeastdeclared sheepishly amidst the applause of the audience during the gala: “I really love my job.”
The museum’s program lit up the city all week long. I arrived in Aspen just in time to see the legendary Ryan Trecartin‘S Return to the creation of new works with his performance Public facilitywhich he led the Mount Aspen next to Jason Moran. The musical performance was bold and cacophonous, taking place on a pile of used ski gondola parts. Trecartin sat on top of the structure, grinning the whole time and playing the synths to the majesty of the purple mountain. A crowd, including Jasmine Tsou, Brian Donnelly (also known as KAWS) and Mrs. Julia Chiang, Anne Philbin, Arie Dean, Brendan Dugan, Scott Rothkopf, Dustin Yellinand Trecartin’s gallery owner Al Moran everyone grinned with him.
Installation view: In the House of the Trembling Eye an exhibition by Allison Katz, Aspen Art Museum, 2024. Photo: Daniel Perez
Furthermore, I can say with certainty that the current Shigeru Bandesigned institution is enough to inspire a visit at 7,900 feet above sea level. Artist Allison KatzThe curatorial vision of “In the House of the Trembling Eye” imagines a contemporary interpretation of the outbreak of Vesuv and life in Pompeii just before it was turned into a smoking hole in the ground. In addition to expertly curated works by artists such as Wade Guyton, Charline von Heyl, Maurizio Cattelan, Gertrude Abercrombie, Hugh HaydenAnd Jill Mulleady (to name just a few My Favorites of the exhibition include artifacts, fragments and frescoes from Pompeii.
The room is divided into several different perspectives on life in Pompeii and centers around the eruption itself. Wall works in various shades of red grow larger from left to right as one enters the room. Overall, it conveys a sense of enchanting apocalyptic dread. In a tour led by Katz, she explained that in designing this final room and installing the last part of the 2,000-year-old fresco on the wall, she thought about “how to think and live in the face of climate destruction. It’s so terrifying that it can really only be expressed through objects from the very distant past.”
I stepped back out into the lush green mountains – where the wildfires climb higher each year – knowing this was an art experience I will never forget. Cheers to Aspen, where the world’s problems haven’t quite reached these heights yet.
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