ArtCrush Auction Raises Record Funds for Museum Programming

The weeklong lineup of programming, held from August 1—August 6 in Aspen, featured a poetry reading from Precious Okoyomon, an opening party put on by Prada, a spoken word performance by Jeffrey Gibson, a “ghost cinema” event from artist Korakrit Arunanondchai and director Alex Gvojic, and artist talks with the likes of Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio. 

ArtWeek was capped off with the ArtCrush gala and auction, which raised a record $4.3 million for the museum’s educational programming and hosted almost 500 attendees. The auction, hosted by Sotheby’s, presented over 50 donated art pieces by artists including those from Paola Pivi, Amoako Boafo, and Gary Simmons. Works ranged across mediums, from ceramics to fabric work. ArtCrush also honored Simmons with the 2022 Aspen Award for Art, an award previously bestowed upon renowned creatives Mary Weatherford, Ernesto Neto, and more. The event began with a cocktail hour, and the evening proceeded with words from Director of the Aspen Art Museum Nicola Lees, the gala co-chairs, and Simmons. 

The Aspen Art Museum also hosted special exhibitions during this time, including the second part of “Gaetano Pesce: My Dear Mountains,” designed for the museum and inspired in part by the Colorado landscape. “Mountain / Time” was also on display at the Aspen Art Museum, presenting a collection of media inspired by time from the Rosenkranz Collection and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Okoyomon had a garden installation at the museum’s rooftop as well, “Every Earthly Morning the Sky’s Light touches Ur Life is Unprecedented in its Beauty.”