ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
Elena Masi’s debut solo show “To Aspen” opened Thursday at Aspen Collective and runs through March 3. There is an opening reception tonight from 6-10.
The Michigan artist’s show features Aspen landscapes and landmarks painted on vintage skis, from Skiers Chalet and Hotel Jerome to vistas of Aspen Mountain.
Masi’s stepfather collected antiques and gave her a pair of antique skis, her first, in 2018. Inspired by the gift, Masi began painting vistas of Michigan ski areas on vintage skis.
“I am deeply affected by landscapes, not only for their grandeur and beauty but also as a backdrop for human stories,” Masi said in an interview. “My work is inspired by light, texture and time. I’m fascinated by the ways that we interact with nature and how that interaction shapes it, for better or for worse.”
Masi prepares the skis for painting by carefully deconstructing the bindings and then priming the surface to prepare for the paint.
At first, Masi made her landscape paintings using acrylic paints on two skis. She slowly started using more skis as she painted larger landscapes. She had hopes of moving on to paint bigger mountains and had Aspen on her mind as her ideal subject matter.
“New Aspen” is one of seven different paintings Elena Masi has made for her show “To Aspen,” which is having an opening reception from 6-10 tonight.
Courtesy photo
The opportunity to work in Aspen occurred in February 2024 when she met D.J. Watkins of Aspen Collective through resident Sarah Diamond.
“Sarah encouraged me to take a look at Elena’s unique form of artwork combining painting and vintage skis,” Watkins recalled. “I was impressed by her talent and the idea of combining the history of Aspen with Elena's creative expression using skis as a canvas. Elena and I worked together to honor Aspen’s past using photos from the book ‘To Aspen and Back: An American Journey’ as a reference and inspiration.”
In April 2024, Masi came to Aspen to take her own photographs, soak in the atmosphere and do color studies. She also got photographs from the Aspen Historical Society.
The “To Aspen” show consists of seven different pieces, with 28 total skis used as the canvas. For this project, Masi used entirely oil paints on skis for the first time. “I switched from acrylic to oils for this body of work and I prefer to use oils for their color richness and how the layers can be built up transparently,” she said.
Masi said her show is a love letter to Aspen. “‘To Aspen’ is a body of work dedicated to a special place,” she said. “I began with extensive research and reflected on Aspen’s past to determine what I wanted to portray, and each composition represents a facet of its dynamic culture and history. As a whole, the body of work essentially serves as a scrapbook of what Aspen is and represents. It’s like a love letter combined with a highlight reel.”
“To Aspen” is Masi’s first-ever solo exhibition as an artist.
“I am so grateful to Aspen Collective,” she said. “The gallery put a lot of trust in me and that has been a major source of inspiration as I have been working on this project. It’s a big milestone for me as an artist, but it’s also something I have been preparing for and working towards for years. It’s a very natural culmination of my efforts up until this point and I’m excited to continue along this path.”
When asked what she hopes people will take away from her show, she said, “My hope is always that the viewer makes their own connections with the art. The show is dedicated to the people in Aspen, past and present, who have contributed to its legacy. I hope for the work to be accepted as a gifted portrait, like saying, ‘This is how I see you, I hope you love it.’”