SUMMER IN …
This feature was originally published in the 2021 edition of “Summer in Aspen/Snowmass,” which is on newsstands now around the Roaring Fork Valley. It as well as other 2021 visitor guides are available anytime at http://www.aspentimes.com/magazines.
If you haven’t made the rounds in Aspen art galleries lately, you’ll find many new players and programs on the scene following an unexpected boom during the pandemic. Galleries were able to open quickly after the spring 2020 lockdown, providing sanctuary for people seeking solace or inspiration when most every other cultural hub was closed.
New galleries came to town, including a spate of international contemporary art tastemakers opening their first Aspen satellites. This summer, we’re toasting those galleries and beloved established ones as the social side of the local scene comes back to life with opening receptions, art talks and walk-throughs.
The pandemic stripped away the social side out of Aspen’s historically lively art and gallery scene. Yes, galleries were able to open quickly after the spring 2020 lockdown and, yes, they provided sanctuary for people seeking solace or inspiration when most every other cultural hub was closed.
But there were no opening receptions and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, no walk-throughs, no in-person artist talks. Art viewing has mostly been a solitary or virtual venture. Even as several new players arrived on the local scene, they arrived quietly.
There were positives to be found in the experience of gallery hopping during the pandemic – you had more conversations with gallerists, for example, and you realized how little you actually get to look at the artwork at a crowded opening.
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NEW YORK, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Artist Alec Monopoly will be unveiling a full collection of never-before-seen original works during a live exhibition at Eden Gallery, his exclusive distributor, this Sunday, April 11th from 11:00am in SoHo. The exclusive works will be available to collectors who register via Eden Gallery s website, and are available only through the use of cryptocurrency, both online and in person.
The artist, whose work has been internationally recognized, will be in attendance. The introduction of cryptocurrencies as the exclusive method of payment throughout the exhibition is a first for the artist and is a symbolic return to his roots, with his famed Mr. Monopoly mascot having been inspired by the stockbroker Bernie Madoff and his work being a blatant criticism of the billion-dollar bailouts and deregulation associated with major banks.
Alec Monopoly Unveiling Full Collection of New Work Available for Purchase Using Only Cryptocurrency Exclusively With Eden Gallery prnewswire.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prnewswire.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Alec Monopoly’s ice sculpture at Eden Gallery on Friday, Feb. 19. Courtesy Eden Gallery
Alec Monopoly with his ice sculpture at Eden Gallery on Friday, Feb. 19. Courtesy Eden Gallery
Alec Monopoly’s ice sculpture at Eden Gallery on Friday, Feb. 19. Courtesy Eden Gallery
The street artist known as Alec Monopoly visited Aspen’s Eden Gallery over the weekend, seeing for the first time in-person the new gallery that has made Monopoly’s wealth-centered artwork a centerpiece of its two-story showroom and more than 7,000 square feet of exhibition space.
“I’m blown away,” he said Friday at Eden, sporting sneakers tagged with his name and dollar signs and wearing a black face mask (as a street artist, he was well-prepared for face covering mandates amid the novel coronavirus pandemic: Until recently, he wore a mask at all times in public to hide his identity from authorities who might arrest him for vandalism).