Aspen Art Museum Presents Second Annual Aspen ArtWeek Culminating with Longstanding ArtCrush Gala and Live and Online Fundraising Auction

A Cornerstone of the Art World Calendar, the Weeklong Roster Includes Artists’ Projects, Discussions, Performances, and Community Events Scheduled August 1–6, 2022

Funds Raised Support the Aspen Art Museum’s Year-Round Curatorial and Educational Programming

ASPEN, COLORADO (July 14, 2022) –– Nicola Lees, Nancy and Bob Magoon Director of the Aspen Art Museum, today announced the robust program for the museum’s second annual Aspen ArtWeek, culminating with the Museum’s longstanding ArtCrush Gala.

Taking place from August 1 through 6, Aspen ArtWeek will offer special projects, conversations, and performances by artists Jeffrey Gibson, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Alex Gvojic, Precious Okoyomon, Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio, Gary Simmons, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Standing on the Corner art ensemble, along with a series of private collection visits. Special exhibitions on view simultaneously include Gaetano Pesce: My Dear Mountains; Mountain / Time, an exhibition of time-based media drawn from the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Rosenkranz Collection; the final rotation of Precious Okoyomon’s Every Earthly Morning the Sky’s Light touches Ur Life is Unprecedented in its Beauty on the Aspen Art Museum Rooftop; and the ArtCrush 2022 Auction Exhibition, all of which are free and open to the public. The celebratory capstone for the week is the Museum’s annual ArtCrush Gala dinner, live and online auction, and presentation of the Aspen Award for Art, this year honoring Gary Simmons.

Nicola Lees, Aspen Art Museum Director, said, “In our vision for the future, the Aspen Art Museum is continually regenerating itself, as we evolve through our exchanges with artists and thinkers and our own ability as an institution to engage in self-criticism. This is the vision we reflect on in this year’s Aspen ArtWeek and 17th annual ArtCrush Gala, with an ambitious program that celebrates our community of artists who are leading the way forward. I am deeply grateful to all of our participating artists and collaborators, our generous community, and the ArtCrush Gala co-chairs Chandra Johnson, Jamie Tisch, and Sara Zilkha for making this year’s Aspen ArtWeek possible. The impact of this incredible week is felt year-round as proceeds support our dynamic curatorial program and the many educational programs that serve the Aspen region.”

ASPEN ARTWEEK PROGRAM

The program of artist-driven events during Aspen ArtWeek will include:

• Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Special Double Feature with the films Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Memoria (please note that this program will take place on Saturday, July 30)

• Aspen ArtWeek Welcome Opening Party co-hosted by Prada featuring a poetry performance by Precious Okoyomon and a musical performance by Standing on the Corner art ensemble.

• Artist Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio in conversation with art historian and critic Suzanne Hudson

• A special performance by artist Jeffrey Gibson titled THE SPIRITS ARE LAUGHING

• The Artist Honoree Talk with recipient Gary Simmons in conversation with Frieze contributor Travis Diehl

• Together, a ghost cinema performance by Korakrit Arunanondchai and Alex Gvojic

• The 17th annual ArtCrush Gala, including Aspen Award for Art 2022 presentation to Gary Simmons, and the live fundraising auction hosted by Sotheby’s

• A series of private collection visits

  For the most up-to-date calendar of events, please visit AspenArtMuseum.org/ArtCrush. ARTCRUSH GALA AND FUNDRAISING AUCTION HOSTED BY SOTHEBY’S

  The 2022 ArtCrush Gala is co-chaired by Chandra Johnson, Jamie Tisch, and Sarah Zilkha. All funds raised by Aspen ArtWeek and ArtCrush support the museum’s year-round curatorial and educational programming and its many community collaborations, with the event providing a significant portion of the museum’s annual funding.

  This year’s ArtCrush Auction will follow in the success of last year’s with the works on display in an exhibition during Aspen ArtWeek, which has been designed by the interdisciplinary agency 2050+. All works are offered for sale in a live and online auction hosted by Sotheby’s. The public at large is invited to view the more than 50 donated works by leading international artists.

The online auction will be available for bidding on July 29 and close at 10 a.m. Mountain Time on Saturday, August 6 at Sothebys.com/Artcrush2022. On the evening of the gala, Sotheby’s Senior Director and Chairman, Europe, Oliver Barker will conduct the live auction. Telephone and absentee bids will be taken. More information on the lots available in the live auction can be viewed at AspenArtMuseum.org/ArtCrush/Live-Auction.

ASPEN ARTWEEK CELEBRATORY EVENTS

An opening party, co-hosted by Prada, will be held on the Aspen Art Museum Rooftop on the evening of August 2 for Museum members and registered ArtCrush attendees. The party will feature live poetry by Precious Okoyomon and a musical performance by Standing on the Corner art ensemble. The gala dinner and live auction will be held on August 5 at the Aspen Skiing Company’s renownedButtermilk ski area. The dinner will also feature the presentation of the Aspen Award for Art to Gary Simmons. Established in ArtCrush’s inaugural year to recognize an artist who has made exemplary contributions to the global dialogue on contemporary art, the Aspen Award for Art has previously been given to artists including Rashid Johnson, Lawrence Weiner, Gabriel Orozco, Lorna Simpson, and Mary Weatherford.

In collaboration with Frieze, the museum has published a summer magazine featuring profiles of participating artists and donated works, a spotlight on the career of Aspen Award for Art winner Gary Simmons, interviews with artists Gaetano Pesce and Jeffrey Gibson, conversations with Robert Rosenkranz and Chrissie Isles regarding the Mountain / Time exhibition, and a view inside the world of collectors Melony & Adam Lewis and Katie & Amnon Rodan, among other features.

Aspen ArtWeek and ArtCrush Gala 2022 is made possible by the generous support of Prada, Sotheby’s, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Tactical Fleet, UOVO, Woody Creek Distillers, LALO Tequila, Doña Vega Mezcal, and Cultured.

ABOUT THE ASPEN ART MUSEUM

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 1979, the Aspen Art Museum is a globally engaged non-collecting contemporary art museum. Following the 2014 opening of the Museum’s facility designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Shigeru Ban, the Museum enjoys increased attendance, renewed civic interaction, and international media attention. In July 2017, the Museum was one of ten institutions to receive the United States’ National Medal for Museum and Library Services for its educational outreach to rural communities in Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley and its learning partnerships with civic and cultural partners within a 100-mile radius of the Museum’s Aspen location.

Museum hours

Tuesday–Sunday, 10 AM–6 PM Closed Mondays

Aspen Art Museum ADMISSION IS FREE courtesy of Amy and John Phelan.

For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 protocol, please refer to the Museum website. Visit the Aspen Art Museum online: aspenartmuseum.org