(Editor’s note: This story was originally published on August 5, 2016. Some details reflect the time of the original report.) Over the past few weeks, New York’s art scene has abandoned our visitors and oozing, curbside trash for the greener pastures of Aspen (very real). Some of the city’s biggest collectors, gallerists and heads of institutions trade in stilettos and loafers for hiking boots, mountain bike cabs. Why? Well, except for the fact that New York City in the summer is hell.
East Coasters have been hitting up the Anderson Ranch Arts Center as a summer art destination for some time. Now, other high-profile cultural events and institutions also draw crowds from the East Coast: Aspen Center’s Visions Festival at the end of June, Aspen’s summer-long music festival, Theater Aspen’s productions. Mama Mia!jazz at Snowmass…the list goes on. On August 3rd, Amy and John Phelan hosted the Aspen Art Museum’s annual WineCrush fundraiser at their home, part of ArtCrush’s larger museum celebration.
Noah Horowitz, director of Americas for Art Basel and author of what else The Art of the Feastwas exploring Aspen for the first time on our recent trip to Aspen. Says Sue Hosteller (former New Yorker, full-time Aspen resident, Anderson Ranch board member, Art Basel Magazine editor) pushed him out, and he took a trip to the Anderson Ranch festival, where he enjoyed seeing collectors outside the hustle and bustle of New York’s art week.
Hostetler calls this place “a weird little unicorn.” He noted the wonderful climate, good schools and cultural centers that make it “a kind of utopia.”
“There aren’t too many places in the world where it’s a city of 6,000 full-time workers where these things go on. It’s really magical,” she said. Hostetler sometimes longs for New York, of course. “I miss being able to go to gallery openings on Thursday nights. That’s really hard,” she said. “You feel like you’re missing out on seeing…you can go to dinner with a group of people, a dealer, a curator, a museum director, a couple of collectors and you can have such a great conversation over dinner.” However, even he deserved it: “Not that you can’t do that here. There’s a sophisticated community all year round here…but there’s not the same intensity.” He talked about New York-based gallery artist Marianne Boesky’s plans to open a space in Aspen. “That’s going to change the scene a lot here. We’ve got a lot of great shows…but that’s going to be great.”
Couple Ann Cook and Charley Moss split their time between New York and Aspen. Cook is a board member of Anderson Ranch. Moss owns a theater in town. At the Anderson Ranch event, Moss insisted he doesn’t miss anything about the big city. He raised his family in Aspen and remembers how the area has changed. He said no one wore suits until recently—unless you were at a funeral or a secret service. Carla Chammas, one of the founders of CRG Gallery, contributed work by Jim Hodges for part of the evening’s auction. Being in Aspen, he said, is more than art: “It’s about hiking and being in nature, looking at things, being outside, and biking and biking.”
Collectors Erin and Paul Pariser (he’s a real estate developer) split their time between New York, Connecticut, and Aspen. While business, finance, and the continuity of New York are still a concern for those who get away for a while, Erin noted that people behave differently in the west: “People have more time, people are more relaxed. The couple used to vacation a lot in the Hamptons, and they enjoy the athletic opportunities and diversity of places in Aspen—they have friends from Houston, San Diego, Miami, and beyond. Paul estimated that they spend 25 percent of their year at their mountain home. They ski for at least 30 days and spend all of July and August heading west.
“I’ll give you an example,” said Paul. “I usually have a meeting, I’ll say why don’t we get together for a bike ride…it’s a great way to spend time with someone.” The requisite business lunch, of course, may follow. These two can work from home, just call or scan. They spoke to me the morning before the ArtCrush festivities began. “I’m the president of this museum, so obviously my first goal is to make sure it’s successful, and that it reaches its financial goals,” said Paul. “It’s become a truly amazing event where artists from all over the world are here…it’s both a financial goal and it really enhances Aspen’s position as an arts center.”
The Parisers spread their art across their three homes, often moving it around. They have one particular concern about what they display in their ski lodge. “There’s a lot of sun in Aspen,” Paul said. “We must be aware of the sunlight.”
That sentiment effectively sums up Aspen’s appeal: if one of your main concerns is plenty of sunshine, you know you’re in a good place. As Hostetler noted near the end of our conversation, “you can always fly to Zabar.”
