Summer is officially in full swing in Aspen, and as we prepare to spend more time under the sun’s warm rays, the mountain town’s artistic agenda is absolutely blooming. Whether you’re a seasoned art enthusiast or just looking for something fresh and inspiring, the season promises a captivating array of happenings. Get ready to explore the exhibitions, performances, and conversations keeping Aspen beautifully busy.
“Anastasia Samoylova”
Where: Casa Tua Aspen
When: Summer 2025
Why It’s Worth a Look: The Russian-born, Miami-based photographer made waves last year when the Metropolitan Museum of Art paired her images of Florida with those of Walker Evans for an unusual two-person exhibition. This mini-survey at Aspen’s private club brings together some of the image-maker’s lesser-known series.
Know Before You Go: The presentation offers a sneak peek at the artist’s forthcoming “Atlantic Coast” series, which is inspired by the American photographer Berenice Abbott’s epic road trip from Florida to Maine in 1954.
“Sherrie Levine: 1977–1988”
Where: Aspen Art Museum
When: June 6–Sept. 29
Why It’s Worth a Look: Sherrie Levine, a key figure in the Pictures Generation movement, has made art history her central subject for over five decades. By appropriating everything from Marcel Duchamp’s urinal to Walker Evans’s portraits of Dust Bowl families, she prompts audiences to ask big questions about what authorship really means.
Know Before You Go: This show takes a close look at Levine’s early work. The oldest piece, Shoe Sale, 1977, documents the sale the artist arranged of 75 pairs of identical, store-bought children’s shoes at a Manhattan art gallery.
“The Pale Threshold” by Enrique Martínez Celaya
Where: Baldwin Gallery
When: June 20–July 20
Why It’s Worth a Look: In this latest display of work by Enrique Martínez Celaya, the artist brings together portraits of individuals on the cusp of adulthood and depictions of stairs. What unites the two disparate topics is an interest in evolution. With a visual language both pondering and communal, viewers are given the opportunity to explore the fragility of these transitional states.
Know Before You Go: “My own interest lies in the poetry and fragility of this liminal space,” the artist notes, “where ascension and descension coexist with anticipation, self-invention, discovery, and memory.”
Intersect Aspen Art + Design Fair
Where: Aspen Ice Garden
When: July 29–Aug. 3
Why It’s Worth a Look: The longest running commercial art fair in Aspen returns to the Ice Garden with a bigger lineup than ever.
Know Before You Go: Highlights of Intersect’s 15th edition include a solo presentation of street artist Shepard Fairey via Aspen’s 212Gallery and photography and sculpture by R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe presented with Atlanta’s Jackson Fine Art.
Anderson Ranch’s Summer Series
Where: Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village
When: July 9–Aug. 7
Why It’s Worth a Look: An intellectual retreat for artists, Anderson Ranch has been a cradle for creative exchange since 1966. This summer, CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson has returned to organize the center’s conversation series for the second year in a row.
Know Before You Go: Don’t miss a dialogue about art, music, and creativity between painter Issy Wood and CULTURED Co-Chief Art Critic Johanna Fateman. Another highlight: 2025 International Artist Award recipient Titus Kaphar in conversation with actor André Holland, who played an artist in Kaphar’s debut narrative feature film.
Aspen Art Fair
Where: Hotel Jerome
When: July 29–Aug. 2
Why It’s Worth a Look: Founded by a former director of Intersect and a local art dealer, the fair gave a jolt to the scene during its debut last year. Hotel Jerome’s luxurious, funky rooms offer a delightful backdrop for art.
Know Before You Go: Returning exhibitors include Perrotin, Galerie Gmurzynska, and Southern Guild, alongside newcomers Marianne Boesky Gallery, Sean Kelly, and Vielmetter.
Air Festival
Where: Aspen Art Museum
When: July 26–Aug. 1
Why It’s Worth a Look: Aspen Art Museum’s new flagship initiative—part think tank, part public artwork, part festival—explores how artists can offer the world a new model for leadership. Designed as a year-round platform for site-specific commissions and boundary-crossing collaborations, it culminates each summer in a week of closed-door conversations and action-packed public talks and performances.
Know Before You Go: Featuring keynote performances by Matthew Barney and André 3000, the festival is inspired by the legacy of Aspen’s interdisciplinary historic International Design Conference.
Up in the Sky Music Festival
Where: Buttermilk Aspen
When: Aug. 8 and 9
Why It’s Worth a Look: Aspen’s newest music festival blends the ethereal and the ecstatic, pairing Kacey Musgraves’s cosmic twang and Glass Animals’s warped psych-pop sound—at a show-stopping venue smack in between Snowmass Village and Aspen Mountain.
Know Before You Go: The debut lineup also includes Rüfüs Du Sol and Suki Waterhouse.
“Sculpting the Environmen: The Three-Dimensional Art of Herbert Bayer”
Where: Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies
When: June 10–April 18, 2026
Why It’s Worth a Look: The German-born Colorado transplant Herbert Bayer (1900–85) played a key role in bringing the Bauhaus movement to the United States. This exhibition offers the most sweeping look yet at Bayer’s philosophy of creating a “total environment.”
Know Before You Go: Bayer moved to Aspen in 1946 and left his mark all over town. He renovated the Hotel Jerome and designed Aspen Mountain’s leaf logo, a version of which is still used today.
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