Artist Jacqueline Humphries to unveil new Aspen exhibit

A “Major Survey of Work” by Jacqueline Humphries will be presented Dec.12 through April 5, 2026, at the Aspen Art Museum. The exhibition is organized by Chief Curator Daniel Merritt.

As the largest showcase of her new and never-before-seen work, the exhibition will show how Humphries’ “integrates modes of expression and communication” and “aligns paintings with machines.” According to a press release, “Her art emphasizes their unyielding capacity to reflect the drives and doubts of humans.”

Humphries, a New York City-based, New Orleans native, creates paintings that blend our old and new ways of making art. Her thick, layered works mix symbols, logos, emojis, and computer code with traditional brush strokes, paint splatters, and drips. This unique approach connects classic abstract paintings with our digital world, according to a press release.

The Aspen Art Museum will display the  artist’s massive five-panel painting. It will cut through the museum’s main floor gallery and will be mounted on a bare fall frame for the exhibit.

Attendees will witness how Humphries created black marks that look like scratched film on the canvas, with washes of color flowing across the surface. Mirrors will reveal another equally large work, featuring red paint drips and sprays reminiscent of horror movie blood. The Tesla logo appears distorted and will be visible only from certain angles.

The museum’s lower level will feature paintings and sculptures illuminated by black lights, according to a press release. Humphries first showed this series at New York’s Nyehaus gallery in 2005. Cast in bright neon pinks, purples, blues, and oranges, these works will evoke “the aesthetics of 1990s rave culture” and haunted house attractions, while also alluding to the cold glow of computer screens.

Humphries began painting in New York during the 1980s. As described in the press release, she uses “repetition, mimicry, and camouflage” techniques to create powerful, but mysterious images. 

The Aspen Art Museum is located at 637 E. Hyman Ave., with hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. For more information, visit aspenartmuseum.org/exhibition/jacqueline-humphries/.