Aspen Art Museum’s ArtCrush Gala Honored Artist Adrián Villar Rojas

Aspen Art Museum's 21st annual ArtCrush gala and auction raised more than $4 million in support of the institution's free exhibitions and educational programming, while continuing an artist-led model that returns a percentage of each donated work's value to participating artists. Held in partnership with Christie's and led by Chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art Sara Friedlander, the live auction featured works by Kelly Akashi, Xinyi Cheng, George Condo, Sayre Gomez, Camille Henrot, Keith Mayerson, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Ding Shilun, and Adrián Villar Rojas, among others, all exhibited at the museum ahead of the sale. The evening also honored Villar Rojas with the 2026 Lewis Family Art Award. His expansive exhibition, “First Gods, Lost Animals”—a multidisciplinary exploration of world-building, ecology, and post-Anthropocene futures—remains on view at the museum through April 11, 2027.