Iconic Contemporary Artist Ed Ruscha To Partner With Aspen One For 2025-26 Art In Unexpected Places Program

For more than 20 years, Aspen Snowmass has adorned lift tickets and season passes with works from contemporary artists. This year, internationally acclaimed artist Ed Ruscha will be the featured lift ticket artist as part of Aspen One's Art in Unexpected Places (ArtUP) program. This season's lift tickets and ski passes continue Aspen One's tradition of blending art and place— quietly inviting reflection on cherished landscapes and the shared responsibility to protect them.

At the start of his artistic career, Ed Ruscha called himself an "abstract artist ... who deals with subject matter." Abandoning academic connotations that came to be associated with Abstract Expressionism, he skillfully incorporated words into the forefront of painting as form, symbol, and material. Working in diverse media with humor and wit, he oscillates between sign and substance, locating the sublime in landscapes both natural and artificial. Ruscha's art has been featured in the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Guggenheim Museum in New York City, as well as the Tate Modern and The National Gallery in London, Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles.

Art teases out meaning and reactions that are unique to those who see it. This is particularly true of Aspen One's ArtUP program, making use of lift tickets and ski passes as canvases for art. The contributions of Ruscha mark an extraordinary moment in time for the ArtUP program as an artist of his caliber showcases his works via this medium. The partnership is also a perfect fit given Ruscha's career producing incredible works of art that explore a variety of mediums, materials, and subjects, as part of a continuous reinvention that has defined his work.

"It is an honor to welcome such a celebrated artist to Aspen One's ArtUP program," said Dave Tanner, President and CEO of Aspen One. "As one of the most influential contemporary artists of our time, Ruscha's work is thought-provoking and boundary-pushing. His contribution to our lift ticket art program aligns with our company's commitment to showcasing contemporary art in line with the legacy of the Aspen Idea and the community as a thriving and influential center of arts and culture. We are grateful to Ed for his partnership as this program continues to grow and evolve."

Aspen has long been known as a global center for arts and culture. The Aspen Idea—that the integration and nurturing of the mind, body, and spirit is the foundation for a meaningful and fulfilling life— originated in the 1940s and remains an integral part of both Aspen itself and the community's DNA. This has fueled the approach of Aspen Snowmass, and its parent company, Aspen One, to elevate art across its businesses, especially through the ArtUP program, which features on-mountain art installations, artwork on lift tickets and passes, works situated throughout the resort, and a series of books documenting the program's history. The program is grounded in the belief that artistic works should be accessible and universal— and true to contemporary art's spirit of spontaneity.

Ruscha's contribution is part of Aspen One's larger commitment to renew and strengthen its commitment to the arts.