ASPEN ART MUSEUM’S ANNUAL ARTWEEK AND ARTCRUSH AUCTION KICK OFF

 MY DEAR MOUNTAINS BY GAETANO PESCE UNVEILED ON MUSEUM FAÇADE

Conceived especially for the Aspen Art Museum (AAM), Gaetano Pesce’s My Dear Mountains—a monumental site-specific temporary installation representing the sun setting over a mountain landscape—was unveiled this week, covering the museum’s entire façade. This ambitious outdoor project is the artist’s first façade intervention and is accompanied by a display of Pesce’s furniture and sculptures in the museum’s ground-floor gallery, further highlighting the multifaceted, artistic nature of his practice over 50 years. The installation and exhibition will remain on view into fall 2022. 

This unveiling marks the kickoff of the Museum’s second annual Aspen ArtWeek, a robust week of programming taking place August 1-6, culminating with the Museum’s longstanding ArtCrush Gala, honoring artist Gary Simmons. ArtWeek offers special projects, conversations, and performances by artists Jeffrey Gibson, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Alex Gvojic, Precious Okoyomon, Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Standing on the Corner art ensemble, along with a series of private collection visits.

ArtWeek also includes August’s most important auction – – the iconic ArtCrush 2022 auction to benefit the museum, with live and online components hosted by Sotheby’s again this year. The public is invited to view the more than 60 worksdonated by leading international artists, including Amoako Boafo, Katherine Bernhardt, DRIFT, Jeffrey Gibson, Joel Mesler, Paola Pivi, Gary Simmons, Ryan Sullivan, and Mungo Thomson. Two rare experiences are also up for bid: a studio visit and dinner with artist Cecily Brown in New York and a three-day, behind-the-scenes art-focused trip to Pompeii, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast, led by art historians, curators, collectors, and artists such as SAGG Napoli. The online auction features an additional 63 lots. Overall, they range from under $5,000 to over $200,000 and include painting, sculpture, ceramics, fabric work, work on paper, and design art. All have been donated to the museum by a group of incredibly generous artists and galleries, in support of the museum’s artistic and educational programs, and will be on view at the Aspen Art Museum July 29–August 5. 

Bidding for the online auction opens on July 29 at 10am MT through August 6 at 10am MT, at Sothebys.com/AspenArtMuseum. On the evening of the gala, August 5, Sotheby’s EVP and Chairman, Europe, Oliver Barker will conduct the live auction which will include telephone and absentee bids. 

My Dear Mountains is curated by AAM Curator-at-Large Stella Bottai and is supported by the Italian Council (9th Edition, 2020), a program of the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture to promote Italian contemporary art around the world.