From Pitkin County commissioner to canvas: Kinsley’s artistic evolution on display

After years of shaping Aspen’s political landscape, Michael Kinsley is now capturing the physical landscape in his latest art exhibition, “Fluid Landscapes,” which opened Oct. 3, and is on display through Oct. 30 at the Carbondale Arts Gallery, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

“It’s an important evolution as an artist,” the Snowmass resident said of his Carbondale solo showcase in Carbondale featuring oil paintings of Western Colorado or Southeast Utah. 

Yet, art wasn’t always his focus.

Arriving at 23 years old in 1970, Kinsley quickly became involved in the Roaring Fork Valley community by joining an environmental advocacy group. This led to a bigger role. He served as Pitkin County Commissioner from 1975-85.

He explained why this period was so important.

“It was a pivotal time in Aspen history because we had had a traditional conservative government forever, got ‘good old boys’ and they really were ‘good guys,’ but they were not dealing with all of the changes that were happening in any serious ways,” he said.

As a result, his team took action.

“So we instituted a very serious set of land use controls and affordable housing and started the transit system. Did a whole bunch of things that were a significant departure from our predecessors,” he said.

These changes were part of a bigger movement Kinsley saw happening at the time.

“That was part of the whole Hunter Thompson thing that was going on during that period, too. He was a friend and ally, and he had run for sheriff just a couple of years prior,” he said.

He explains that there was a significant upsurge in progressive, and predominantly young people who wanted to gain control of how fast Aspen was developing.

“What we did was introduce a whole series of regulations, which are now sort of the fabric of the community,” Kinsley said. “Then, they were quite controversial. There were tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits set against what we were trying to do, but now it’s sort of standard operating procedure in the valley. So it was literally a significant shift in local community government.”

After his time in government, he worked for the Rocky Mountain Institute in Basalt from 1983-2016. The organization was originally founded in Old Snowmass, and now it’s expanded to global locations.

“My work was sort of an anomaly there,” he said.

He focused on energy and sustainable communities. Yet, during this whole period, he tinkered with art. When he turned 40, he started taking it more seriously. When he retired, his schedule gave him the freedom to focus on his landscapes.

“The quality significantly improved, and the style significantly changed. I moved from traditional Western landscapes to much more fluid landscapes,” Kinsley said.

This more recent artistic development he calls “Fluid Landscapes” amplifies the shapes that are seen in nature and reveals shapes that might be less obvious otherwise.

Despite being a professional full-time artist, Kinsley continues to volunteer with various organizations in the valley and give back to the community he has so passionately been a part of.

As for this latest show, he said, “Carbondale’s a really vibrant arts community. This community is remarkably supportive of artists.”

He is impressed with the plethora of arts organizations that are available to help creatives get started, take classes, and be mutually supportive.

“It would be probably hard pressed to find a valley of this small population that has this many arts organizations of this intensity,” he said. “I’m really proud to be part of that, and doing this work has greatly expanded the range of people who I have become friends with in the valley.”

The gallery is located at 76 S. 4th St., Carbondale. To find out more, go to carbondalearts.com. For more of Kinsley’s art, go to kinsleypaintings.com.