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A new exhibition at the Aspen Art Museum anticipates Shigeru Ban’s new building
As a warm-up to the much-anticipated opening of its new home designed by architect Shigeru Ban, the Aspen Art Museum has mounted an exhibition of works by Los Angeles-based artist Morgan Fisher, the centerpiece of which is a new painting installation based on temporary structures the artist has created, which are inspired by Ban’s plans for the building. Curated by AAM’s Jacob Proctor, the show runs through 3 February 2013 and the new building, which will be Ban’s first museum in the US, is slated to open in 2014.
About the design for the building Ban explains: “In any design I always strive for a unified relationship between the structure and its surrounding. The design for the new Aspen Art Museum is a very exciting opportunity to create a harmony between Aspen’s existing architecture and the surrounding beauty of the natural landscape.”
The 30,000 sq ft building will have six galleries, a cafe, a bookstore, and requisite office and storage space for art. The defining feature is a paper screen facade resembling wood on the building’s two public facades, which face the street. Between the glass curtain wall and the screens is a grand 10 foot wide staircase that leads to a rooftop deck where visitors can enjoy the view of the mountains and the sculpture garden below. Ban says he wants the experience of visiting the museum to be like skiing, where one first takes a look and then climbs the mountain. A fitting metaphor indeed for this skiing and winter holiday hot spot.
The museum is expected to cost $30 million.
Sharon McHugh
US Correspondent
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