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The third annual Aspen Art Fair returns this summer to Hotel Jerome with an expanded leadership team.
“We are delighted to welcome Kelly Cornell as our Director and Christine Mack to our board of directors as we prepare for our third edition,” Co-Founder Bob Chase said in a press release.
Newly appointed director Cornell will lead the 2026 Aspen Art Fair, set for July 29-Aug. 1. Aspen resident Bob Chase, who is the owner of Hexton Gallery, continues to oversee the event he co-founded with Becca Hoffman.
The intimate, immersive art fair presents international galleries staged across booths and hotel rooms, a popular destination during Aspen Art Week. The distinctive event draws more than 7,000 collectors, curators, and cultural leaders from around the world.
“Our intention has always been to present a highly curated, relationship-driven experience that reflects the sophistication of the art, our community, and the unique Aspen setting, while attracting an international audience,” Chase said.
Cornell told The Aspen Times she immediately accepted the role. She will also continue to serve as the director for the Dallas Art Fair, which she’s led since 2016. In Aspen, she will oversee the Aspen Art Fair’s curatorial vision, exhibitor relations, and programming.
“Kelly’s experience and leadership at the Dallas Art Fair, where she and her team have strengthened international gallery participation, expanded collector engagement, and established compelling programming, along with the expertise, passion, and connections that Christine brings to us, will be vital as we expand the Aspen Art Fair’s global reach, deepen relationships with leading galleries and collectors, and advance its position on the international art and cultural calendar,” Chase said.
Cornell succeeds former fair director Hoffman. Hoffman plans to focus on her business across the United States, Europe, and Asia for her company 74th Arts.
Cornell aims to continue the fair’s focus on presenting leading U.S. and international galleries and on debuting specially curated projects. This is alongside sparking new opportunities for dialogue among collectors, institutions, and artists through salon-style talks, private collection visits, site-specific activations, and programs with Aspen’s cultural partners, according to a press release.
Mack, founder of Mack Art Foundation, joins the board of directors alongside Chase, John Sughrue (founder of the Dallas Art Fair and of Brook Partners, which produces the Dallas Art Fair), and Jeremy Buonamici (vice president and chief operating officer of Brook Partners).
“The Aspen Art Fair represents an exciting evolution in the art-fair landscape — one that prioritizes rigor, intimacy, and a true sense of place,” Mack said. “I’m honored to be a part of its leadership team at this pivotal moment and to support a platform that advances new dialogue between artists, galleries, collectors, and the broader cultural community.”
2026 exhibitors at the fair already include Albertz Benda, Anat Ebgi, Friedman Benda, Perrotin, RYAN LEE, Secci, and Southern Guild.
“The Aspen Art Fair mirrors this philosophy, honoring our historic spaces with an activation that is fresh and contemporary. Our commitment to unique cultural experiences is also greatly enhanced by the art fair’s international perspective,” General Manager of Hotel Jerome Stéphane Lacroix said.
The Art Fair will continue its dedication “providing artists with residencies, commissions, and institutional recognition,” according to a press release.
The Art Prize Program has been developed with partners Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Buckhorn Public Arts in collaboration with DanceAspen, The Pardon Collection, and Mack Art Foundation.
Chase told The Aspen Times about the Art Prize program, “We’re really pleased with all the people we have worked with up until now on that — that was always an important part of the fair to me. It felt like a good opportunity to give back, so we are looking to expand that a little more this year.”
The four-day art fair will run daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 29-July 31 — and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 1. Tickets for the event include VIP passes, single run-of-show, and single day tickets. Hotel Jerome is located at 330 East Main St.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit aspenartfair.artsvp.com/822d4a?link=pr and aspenartfair.org.
