Winterfest: An Exhibition of Arts and Crafts

Thu, 12/17/2020 - 01:00 AM - Sun, 02/21/2021 - 10:00 AM

The Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is exhibiting Winterfest: An Exhibition of Arts and Crafts, a new, seasonal, selling exhibition launching on December 17, 2020.

Winterfest will consist of handmade artworks displayed within an exhibition design by US-based, German artist Veit Laurent Kurz based on a configuration of representations of a cabin, mountains, and a lake. The exhibition will feature works by Kelly Akashi, Kerstin Brätsch, Beverly Buchanan, Richard Carter, Milano Chow, Beau Dick, Olivia Erlanger, Gina Fischli, Rochelle Goldberg, Jonas Lipps, Soshiro Matsubara, Malcolm Mooney, Brandon Ndife, Erin Jane Nelson, Precious Okoyomon, Silke Otto-Knapp, Giangiacomo Rossetti, Lin May Saeed, Cole Speck, Stefan Tcherepnin and Amelie von Wulffen.

Kurz is known for creating a number of immersive installations which interpret traditional Alpine cabin structures to house artist-curated exhibitions which in the past have been realized in Germany, New York, Switzerland, and Japan. This type of structure is emblematic of the central European landscape around the Alps, which also has a particular appropriateness to the geography of Aspen. Taking the natural landscape as inspiration for experimental architecture, Kurz will devise a large-scale installation that will provide the setting for works that fall between arts and crafts by contemporary artists from across the United States and Europe.

Winterfest takes its cue from the German tradition of jahresgaben—annual selling exhibitions conducted by kunstvereine (member-based art associations throughout Germany). Since the 1800s, these exhibitions have been mounted in Germany to support artists, as well as help fund the institutions’ programs. As such, Winterfest is intended to function as a new economy of collaboration to aid artistic practice financially; as such, all works will be for sale during the exhibition, with profits split between artists and the museum.