This summer, Buckhorn Public Arts (BPA) will debut a major public art installation by internationally acclaimed artist Sanford Biggers in Aspen’s Paepcke Park. Titled “Unsui (Mirror),” the artwork was co-commissioned in partnership with Desert X, and the Aspen presentation is being installed in partnership with Aspen Public Art. The monumental work will be on view from June through September 2025, anchoring Aspen’s cultural season with one of the largest-scale public art installations the city has hosted downtown.
The work will launch with a public artist talk in Paepcke Park on June 30 at 3:30 PM, followed by a private reception at Sant Ambroeus for invited guests. The installation will also be spotlighted during Sanford Biggers’ appearance as a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, offering audiences multiple opportunities to engage with the work throughout the season. A special performance by DanceAspen will take place in Paepcke Park on July 30, activating the site of Unsui (Mirror) through movement and community.
Buckhorn Public Arts is honored to partner with Desert X to bring this monumental work from Sanford Biggers to Aspen this summer, said Tim Sack, executive director of Buckhorn Public Arts. Unsui (Mirror) perfectly aligns with our mission to connect our community with world-class contemporary art in meaningful, public-facing ways.
This presentation is supported by the City of Aspen through Aspen Public Art, with co-commissioning by Desert X, the acclaimed organization behind site-specific art exhibitions in California’s Coachella Valley and beyond. This Aspen presentation marks Desert X’s first project in Colorado, expanding its geographic reach while remaining grounded in its mission to activate landscape and cultural context through art.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sanford Biggers is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses painting, sculpture, video, photography, music and performance. As an artistic intermediary, he disrupts established narratives, weaving U.S. history into broader global frameworks. By remixing cultural symbols and intervening in historical forms, he complicates collective mythologies and reimagines traditions. His work reflects personal experiences, from his early engagement with graffiti art in Los Angeles to his time living in Japan, shaping his ability to bridge disparate cultural and historical contexts.
Unsui (Mirror) features two towering sequin sculptures set against the expansive sky. Clouds, a recurring motif in Biggers’ work, symbolize freedom, boundlessness and interconnection. Drawing on Biggers’ study of Buddhism, these clouds—unsui (“clouds and water” in Japanese)—embody unencumbered movement. Shimmering in the light, they evoke a feeling of timelessness and transcendence.
ABOUT BUCKHORN PUBLIC ARTS
Buckhorn Public Arts is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding public access to contemporary art in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. Through public installations, partnerships, and year-round events, BPA fosters dynamic cultural experiences that are free, inclusive, and community-driven.
ABOUT DESERT X
Desert X is a nonprofit organization that produces international contemporary art exhibitions activating desert locations through site-specific installations by acclaimed artists. Founded in 2017, Desert X explores environmental, social and political themes that shape our world.
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