Off The Wall: The Aspen Art Museum’s Guide to Instagram

The still-newly-reopened Aspen Art Museum is one of the best examples of what a museum can be in this digital age.

First, it has a stunning, basketwoven facade that hints at the caliber of international art inside. Second, its sweeping halls showcase buzzy young talent that the director and CEO Heidi Zuckerman has a gift for spotting before anyone else (and a scroll-forever archive houses images on one handy page, here). Third, it’s free, thanks to donations helping to make the collection as accessible as possible.

Heidi and her team are obviously hyper-aware of how a museum should evolve digitally—even their Instagram is aspirational but friendly— and she agreed to tell us which artists are just as good IRL as they are online.

From Heidi Zuckerman, CEO and Director of the Aspen Art Museum:

@freedomcannotbesimulated

Rirkrit Tiravanija, a longtime friend, has a socially-based practice and often incorporates cooking. He recently opened a restaurant outside of New York called Unclebrother, and I like how the images he posts could be art or food, or both.

Followers: 866

@retrobalera

Roberto Cuoghi’s feed really looks like his work. He focuses on sculptural objects seemingly from distant times and places, while preventing an easy deciphering of their content or origin.

Followers: 222

@mickalenethomas

Mickalene Thomas’s work is the subject of an upcoming solo show at the Aspen Art Museum, entitled Mentors, Muses, & Celebrities, and I feel like this same title could be applied to her people and personality-driven feed.

Followers: 14k

@joshklinejoshkline

The tagline of Josh Kline’s feed is “what are you?,” which can aptly be asked of the pictures he posts. His works ask questions about tough and relevant contemporary social issues, sometimes camouflaging his subjects with seductive high-production values.

Followers: 1,884

@artistaaronyoung

A significant part of Aaron Young’s presence is a conceptual art project featuring found images of other people who share his name.

Followers: 3,381

@adjaye_visual_sketchbook

David Adjaye employs his feed as a digital sketchbook, offering insight into things he encounters visually that inspire him.

Followers: 88.3k

@sden023

Simon Denny’s practice is digitally based and he mines contemporary culture for subject matter, making his Instagram feed doubly reflexive and, consequently, fascinating.

Followers: 2,645

@friedrichkunath

Friedrich Kunath explores love, loss, and other emotional opportunities and experiences in his work. His photos are similarly poetic.

Followers: 4,293

@derrickadamsny

You find Derrick Adams, his work, his friends, and their work on his feed, and he generously describes and details who, what, and where things can be seen.

Followers: 5,552