ART PRIZE PROGRAM
Anderson Ranch will award the Anderson Ranch Visiting Artist Prize to one outstanding artist from the fair. Selected by a special committee, the winner will enjoy a one-week residency at the Ranch, gaining access to studios across various disciplines. This prize continues the legacy of notable visiting artists such as Catherine Opie, Theaster Gates, Julie Mehretu, Mikalene Thomas, Tom Sachs, Kenny Scharf, Ed Ruscha among many others.
The Pardon Collection, which includes more than a thousand contemporary collage, boundary-pushing digital works, and artifacts from commissioned artist projects, will award The Pardon Acquisition Prize, a $10,000 acquisition prize to one artist exhibiting at the Aspen Art Fair. Each year, Pardon hosts major exhibitions in Denver at its gallery space, The Vault, and runs an exhibition and residency program in Newport Beach, CA.
This Year’s Winners
Anderson Ranch Visiting Artist Prize
Masako Miki, represented by RYAN LEE Gallery, has been awarded the Anderson Ranch Visiting Artist Prize. This prestigious honor grants Miki a one-week residency at the Ranch where she will enjoy access to studios across various disciplines, including painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, and more. Miki joins a distinguished list of past visiting artists at the Ranch, such as Catherine Opie, Theaster Gates, Julie Mehretu, Mickalene Thomas, Tom Sachs, Kenny Scharf, and Ed Ruscha.
Masako Miki, 2021. © Andrew Payter, courtesy of RYAN LEE Gallery, New York
Masako Miki, Hyakki Yagho, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons—Shapeshifters in Haunted Indigo Blue Field, 2024. © Masako Miki, Courtesy of the artist and RYAN LEE Gallery, New York
Buckhorn Public Arts, a 501(c)(3) organization that was founded to Make Art Happen in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley, will award The Buckhorn Public Arts Prize a commissioned public art project in Aspen. The Buckhorn Public Arts organization connects individuals, private institutions, local governments, and donors to support large-scale public art projects.
The Buckhorn Public Arts / Dance Aspen Artist Set Design Award
Andy Millner, represented by Hexton Gallery, is named the recipient of The Buckhorn Public Arts / Dance Aspen Artist Set Design Award. This award celebrates the tradition of collaboration between visual artists and dance, inspired by the partnership between Robert Rauschenberg and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from the 1950s. Buckhorn Public Arts and Dance Aspen will collaborate to produce a set design and Millner, who has worked previously in theater, will be featured as part of this exciting new initiative drawing upon both his visual art and performance art backgrounds.
Andy Millner, courtesy Hexton Gallery
Andy Millner, Floating World (Respite), 2023, Pigment print, mulberry paper, on linen 68 x 81 in, courtesy Hexton Gallery and The Aspen Art Fair
The Pardon Prize
Bethany Collins, represented by PATRON, has been awarded The Pardon Prize, an initiative by the Pardon Collection that honors artists making significant contributions to contemporary art. Collins embodies this mission through her innovative work. A rare diptych from her Southern Review series will be added to the Pardon Collection. This series showcases Collins' deep engagement with language as a medium. In these pieces, she preserves the titles and authors while obscuring the text with a thick, velvety charcoal block, creating a mirror-like surface that reflects the viewer. As she manipulates the material, her fingerprints become integral to the artwork, adding an element of self-portraiture. Collins' poetic approach not only alters the original meaning of the texts but also introduces new layers, exploring themes of erasure, censorship, inclusivity, and the selective visibility of narratives within our cultural and historical discourse.
Bethany Collins, courtesy PATRON
Bethany Collins, Untitled (In the Garden_The Last Days), 2023, Charcoal on found paper, 9” x 6” | 22.9 x 15.2 cm, courtesy PATRON