Exhibition dedicated to Herbert Bayer’s legacy opens June 9

Long before destination branding had a name, Herbert Bayer gave Aspen its look. 

The Austrian-born Bauhaus master arrived in 1946, and spent a lifetime shaping what was once a mining town into the cultural beacon it is today.

The Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies will open its fifth exhibition, “Double Take: Recurrent Dialogues in the Art of Herbert Bayer,” at noon June 9, offering a look at recurring shapes, colors and graphic devices that thread through his work. A free public opening reception on the Bayer Center lawn will run from 4 to 6 p.m. June 12, with Koko Bayer making an appearance.

“As this is our fifth exhibition, it seems only appropriate that we are returning to the genesis of Bayer’s fundamental artistic principles that show up in so much of his work across the decades,” Communications Manager for the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies Sarah Shaw said. “Viewers will be excited to see some of his more well-known works on display, but in a setting where the connections between them are thoughtful and frank.”

The show coincides with preparations for Colorado’s 150th anniversary.

“As part of the statewide ‘Colorado 150’ festivities, the Bayer Center invites visitors to explore how one man’s artistic vision helped transform a quiet mining town into a world-class cultural destination,” a press release states. 

While the previous show centered on Bayer’s three-dimensional arc, the upcoming show is focused on his two-dimensional practice and fine art demonstrating recurring motifs across various mediums. 

“There is something for everyone in the vastness of Bayer’s experience and interest and subject matter,” Adam Thomas, who has been curator of the Bayer Center since 2024 and organized this show, said. “There is his representational work, his figurative work and then also kind of abstract work, so it really spans different kinds of styles and different subject matter.” 

Thanks to generous collaborators and generous lenders, Thomas noted that there are 20 to 30 works being shown that are rarely exhibited.

Pieces will be coming from the Denver Art Museum, private collectors, the Bayer Center’s own holdings and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Six photographs will also arrive from the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York.

“The show is a great mix of work coming from far and wide, but also some things that are on hand in Aspen,” Thomas said.

The Bayer Center highlights how Bayer used his graphic design skills to market Aspen to the world.

“Bayer didn’t just build Aspen; he branded it,” the release reads.

To complement the visitor experience, the Bayer Center will be giving away a 90-page catalog to exhibition visitors.

For more information, visit thebayercenter.org/exhibitions.