A new fine art gallery will open Friday at 616 E. Hyman Ave. Wynn Fine Art, which will be located in the former Marianne Boesky Gallery space, will host an opening reception for the community from 4 -8 p.m.
"We are thrilled to be opening Wynn Fine Art Aspen this winter and to be bringing such fantastic works to the thriving Aspen art scene. We look forward to having Wynn Fine Art be your next destination in Aspen," said Director Nick Hissom.
The gallery exhibits museum-quality works on canvas by Jean Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein from the Steve Wynn collection; curated alongside works by contemporary and blue chip talents such as Yayoi Kusama, photographer Ansel Adams, Keith Haring, Alex Katz, cubic-surrealist Connor Addison, light artist Ray Howlett, British sculptor Nick Hornby, as well as Irving Penn, Frank Stella, Damien Hirst, and more.
Wynn started collecting art in the 1970s for the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas when he purchased the largest real golden nugget in the world, which he exhibited at the casino. His art business grew from there into the Bellagio Museum of Fine Art in the 1990s, which featured Monet, Gauguin, and Van Gogh alongside other impressionist artists and post-war and modern art like Picasso.
Art has been a lifelong passion of the billionaire real estate developer. Since retiring from Wynn Las Vegas, he's opened Wynn Fine Art in Palm Beach and now a second location in Aspen.
"Aspen is a great town with a great culture," Hissom said. "I've been coming here since I was born. My grandmother, Gwen Sharp, had been here since the 1970s, and we all grew up coming here. And Steve is now in Aspen, so we're all here as a family, which is great."
The gallery will be showing some major works here in Aspen including artist Basquiat's museum-quality work, "Flash in Naples," estimated to be worth about $20 million, alongside two of Warhol's "Flowers," and 1980 works on canvas by Lichtenstein called "Woman Reading."
"The art world here has been driven by a combination of the collectors and the spirit of the town, which is very modern, contemporary, hip, cool, sporty, and vibrant," Hissolm explained. "And now we have so many great collectors coming to town, as well as the Aspen Art Museum and the other galleries that are putting in a lot of work into supporting the arts. We're very excited to be a part of that now."
Hissolm said the gallery will also feature emerging contemporary artists, blue chip, living artists like 95-year-old Yayoi Kusama, one of the most famous Japanese female artists painting today, and Barcelona-based Connor Addison, whose work is also on view at Snow Lodge Supper Club at The St. Regis for the season.
With the art and interiors curated to reflect Aspen's mountainous and energetic atmosphere, Wynn Fine Art has two objectives: to promote Aspen's most discerning collectors, while being an inclusive space for Aspen's art-loving community.
"I want to get the word out that we're welcoming the community," he said. "Even though the art is fancy it's not a formal or super strict place. We invite people to stop in after skiing and get hot chocolate, coffee, champagne, or a glass of wine. We're open to the community and receptive to everyone interested in experiencing and learning more about the art."
Wynn Fine Art is located across from the Aspen Art Museum and Alo Yoga, at 616 E. Hyman Ave. and is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.