Aspen One & Aspen Art Museum Announce A Ski In, Ski Out Art Exhibition On Aspen Mountain
Aspen One, in partnership with the Aspen Art Museum, is pleased to present Heaven, an expansive project by Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel that takes the form of a lift ticket, an exhibition, on-mountain signage, activations and merchandise.
Open to the public and running 14-23 February and 7-16 March, Heaven will transform the historic Ruthie’s cabin on Aspen Mountain into a first-of-its-kind, ski-in-ski-out art exhibition. The project is in celebration of Aspen One’s 20th Anniversary of the Art in Unexpected Places programme, which exhibits the works of contemporary artists across the resort in unique ways. Additional exhibit information and details are available here.
Israel creates artworks that draw upon traditions of pop culture, celebrity and entertainment to consider ways in which fantasy, escapism and the pursuit of joy shape our lives. To make his work, Israel often embeds himself within industries he examines, harnessing their magic through incorporating their methods of production. Much of his work, including props, set pieces, signs and scenic backdrops of sunset-hued skies, is made within the Warner Bros. Design Studio.
At the invitation of Aspen One and Aspen Art Museum, Israel designed the 2024-2025 season lift ticket. Across each ticket, against a radiant skyscape reads the phrase: "Your ticket to Heaven." The dynamic red script in which the title of the project is rendered references the logo of Heaven: The Supermarket of Pop Culture, a novelty store founded by artist Brad Benedict in Los Angeles' Century City Mall in the late 1970s. Known for selling graphic t-shirts, greeting cards, candy, toys and collectibles, the unconventional store became a treasured emblem of the city throughout the 1980s. As such, Israel presents this lift ticket not as an image of an artwork, but a work of art in and of itself that resurrects a cherished brand.
Acts of resurrection characterise Israel’s exhibition, which unfolds in a building formerly known as Ruthie’s, stationed at the base of the treasured Ruthie’s Run on Aspen Mountain. Built by Frank Lerner in the early 1980s, the restaurant shuttered in 2001 yet remains extant on the slopes. As Heaven, the entire interior is painted a luminous white and inhabited byover thirty life-size painted portraits of celebrities who have died since the launch of Instagram on 6 October 2010. Israel is attuned to the ways in which figures of pop culture are memorialised in a tidal wave of recycled imagery on social media. For a short time, feeds become entirely devoted to a person celebrated by many but known by few. These images form the basis for the portraits, which are painted upon an aluminium structure that mimics a cardboard cutout.
“My goal is to create an experience that will further enrich the lore of Aspen Mountain. Aspen, for me, has always been a place of joy and community, something of a heaven due to both its altitude and natural beauty,” notes Alex Israel. “I learned to ski here as a child, and it has been a happy place for me ever since. Heaven as a destination exhibition challenges viewers to question their surroundings and invites them to see the mountain in a whole new light.”
Art In Unexpected Places (ArtUP)
Since 2005,ArtUP has brought world-class art to the slopes and community of Aspen One through installations, lift ticket artwork and special events. The programme has featured renowned artists including Takashi Murakami, FriendsWithYou, Paola Pivi and Rashid Johnson. The programme is grounded in the belief that artistic works should be accessible and universal—cutting across class, race and politics—and celebrates contemporary art’s spirit of spontaneity.
In partnership with the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen One is revisiting and celebrating featured artists who have sparked moments of unanticipated discovery through lift ticket art, on-mountain installations and interventions, multimedia storytelling and special events. These moments have defined the programme for 20 years and solidified our company and community as champions of accessible art.
"For two decades, ArtUP has transformed our lift tickets into pocket-sized works of art,” said Aspen One Chief Brand Officer Gabby Cohen. “Our lift tickets this season feature Alex Israel’s work with the words ‘Your Ticket to Heaven’, and we are thrilled to reveal the full meaning of the ticket with the announcement of the upcoming ‘Heaven’ exhibit on Aspen Mountain. This transformation of Ruthie's brings the intersection of art and nature to our guests and community."
The Heaven exhibition at Ruthie's is free and open to the public from 10am to 2pm daily 14-23 February and 7-16 March 2025. A valid lift ticket is required to access Aspen Mountain, as the venue is accessible only by skiing intermediate terrain. Skiers and riders can access Ruthie's via the Silver Queen Gondola or Lift 1A. Lift tickets can be purchased at aspensnowmass.com or any Aspen Snowmass ticket office. To learn more about the Heaven exhibition, clickhere.
