Returning for a 17th year, Aspen Snowmass has once again selected an artist to design a limited-edition lift ticket and organize workshops, lectures and on-mountain experiences to build both local and global communities in a running partnership with the Aspen Art Museum. This year, Italian artist Paola Pivi steps into the scene as the 2021-22 ArtUP Lift Ticket artist.
Pivi’s work is known for being diverse and enigmatic, combining the familiar with the unknown by modifying commonplace objects’ scale, material or color to challenge art enthusiasts to change their perspective surrounding the object. The Aspen Snowmass ArtUP Lift Ticket reflects a running theme in Pivi’s work—animals as subjects. The two installations Pivi created with the help of a taxidermist, Untitled and We are the baby gang, both feature urethane sculptures of polar bears covered in multicolored feathers and in strikingly human poses. Untitled is made up of four larger bears while We are the baby gang has six smaller bears. Pivi’s love of the wilderness, bears and the human characteristics of it all set the stage for how she would design her work for Aspen Snowmass, which is set to be her third solo exhibition in the United States. Pivi’s work is a reflection of the inherent connection humanity has with nature through the humanlike poses she fashioned the bears in.
“Introducing the whimsical and thought-provoking art of Paola Pivi to the slopes of Aspen Snowmass is timely,” says Paula Crown, representing the ownership team at Aspen Snowmass. “Art’s superpower is its ability to connect and heal. Paola Pivi’s work brings joy, as well as a new framework through which viewers understand our four-legged friends and our shared environment.” The art will be displayed in Aspen at the Sundeck, the Aspen Art Museum and Snowmass’s Elk Camp restaurant. Take a trip to the base of any of Aspen Snowmass’ four mountains or the Four Mountain Sports retail shops to pick up limited-edition apparel and accessories featuring Pivi’s designs.
Photography by: Photo by Artist/Courtesy of Aspen Snowmass
