With two fairs and a new festival, Aspen art scene is reaching new peaks – The Art Newspaper

Aspen, Colorado is a destination for luxury ski resorts. Every summer, the snow melts, and residents—both part-time and year-round—turn their sights to Aspen Art Week, growing larger than ever with two fairs, its annual museum gala and a new festival.

This year marks the 15th edition of Intersect Aspen, the mountain city’s longest-running fair (which previously operated under the name Art Aspen). So far 28 galleries have been announced, with more to come according to the organisers. Exhibitors include Jackson Fine Art from Atlanta, one of the country’s leading photography dealers, and 212 Gallery, a local Aspen gallery making its debut at the fair.

Tim von Gal is the chief executive of Intersect Art and Design, the firm behind Intersect Aspen, which he runs with his brother Dirk. The company also puts on a fair in Palm Springs. Last year marked Intersect Aspen’s best year ever, Von Gal says. The fair added an extra day of operations on Sunday and recorded the highest attendance figures since it was founded, he says, adding that he also observed a certain joie de vivre he says he could not quantify.

“I’m not a young man, and to see the success of our galleries, art collectors thrilled with what they were seeing on the floor, the programming delivering such great, thought-provoking comments from so many people—it was the most enjoyable event I’ve ever produced,” he says.

This year, the fair is emphasising the importance of inviting artists and the connection between collectors and the creators of the works available at stands. Artists confirmed to be attending Intersect Aspen include Donna Isham, Cristina Mittermeier, Tracy Rocca, Gino Miles and Topher Straus.

“It adds so much dimension to your appreciation to have that conversation with the artist,” von Gal says. “When they bring an artist in, it’s like an extra added bit of magic that comes to the floor.”

The Aspen collector base

Von Gal describes Aspen collectors as “savvy, sophisticated, knowledgeable”, many of whom spend time in the city at their second or third homes.

“The collector base in Aspen are people that you will see in the Miami Beach Convention Center, the Javits Center and in Regents Park [for the Art Basel and Frieze fairs], but they’re more relaxed,” says Rebecca Hoffman, a co-founder and director of the Aspen Art Fair. “They’re engaged. They go on their morning hikes. They’ll go to a talk at Anderson Ranch [Arts Center]… they appreciate visual art and design, and all of the cultural offerings the town provides, from theatre to music to film to dance.”

Hoffman previously served as director at Intersect Art and Design. Last year, she branched out with the local dealer Bob Chase to form their own fair at the city’s historic Hotel Jerome.

“We felt like it was already sort of the beating heart of town,” Hoffman says. “It was important to have a space within Aspen’s history to create a present and a future for a community that supports arts and culture and philanthropy.”

During the Aspen Art Fair’s inaugural edition, they brought several former Intersect participants with them, including Perrotin and Miles McEnery Gallery. Those two will return this year, part of an exhibitor list doubling in size to 43 stands this year.

“We have a sense of conviviality and family, because we’re a small fair in a small mountain town,” Hoffman says. “Last year, all of the dealers got to know each other really well, and did business with each other. And one gallery helped another gallery sell something.”

Many of the Aspen Art Fair’s participants would be familiar names to those who attend major art fairs: Vielmetter Los Angeles and Marianne Boesky Gallery have both signed up.

The week of the fairs is a busy time for art in Aspen: the 20th annual ArtCrush, the Aspen Art Museum’s annual fundraising gala and auction, will take place 1 August. Last year, the event raised $4.5m for the museum’s programming, marking the most successful iteration of the gala to date.

This year, the museum will also host its own festival called dubbed Air (29 July-1 August) bringing in artists like Issy Wood, Matthew Barney and Cannupa Hanska Luger for talks and performances. It’s part of a larger $20m initiative to invest in artists as societal leaders.

• Intersect Aspen, Aspen Ice Garden, 29 July-3 August

• Aspen Art Fair, Hotel Jerome, 29 July-2 August