Relévant Galleries

New Release | “The Jerome” by David Yarrow
Edition of 12

Standard Size: 52” x 71” Framed
Large Size: 71” x 100” Framed

Prices available upon request

“The raw and imposing facade of the Jerome Hotel has lorded over Aspen since the 1880s. Its size and ornate brickwork remind us that Victorian architectural ambition extended beyond New York and Chicago, reaching even remote mining communities 8,000 feet
up in the Rockies.

The Jerome has witnessed much change in Aspen over 140 years: a tough blue-collar community evolved into a modest winter sports destination welcoming hipsters and artists as well as cowboy capitalists. Aspen then, of course, slowly grew into its role as the world’s most celebrated ski resort. It has lived more lives than most communities ever will.

The Jerome’s story is unique and it will no doubt continue to hold court long after we are all gone. It is the one historical constant the town can boast of, having hosted every conceivable archetype over its long life.

The hotel chooses not to judge, but if the
room walls could talk, there would be a large volume of stories to come from behind that grand brickwork facade. Not all guest behaviour at the Jerome has come from the highest ethical drawer and I think its legendary status is enhanced by that. This is no gateway to heaven; there is too much history of scandal and vice behind the brickwork.

My homage to the grandness of the Jerome demanded compositional balance and good spatial sensitivity. I knew my shooting position and for this to work I needed the help of the Aspen police department who have always been a joy to deal with.

We had no desire to be lame with our props and brought one of the world’s most expensive cars - the Ferrari 250 GTO - onto the set. That immediately allowed me to tell a bohemian story and in Kate Bock and Brooks Nader we had the talent to embrace the vibe.

My goal was to take an original photograph that Aspenites could smile at and in so doing celebrate one of the most historic hotels in America.

There is nowhere quite like The Jerome.“

THE PROCESS

Ashley Collins starts with pages torn from 1800s Harper’s Monthly journals, aged outside at her California ranch before a single brushstroke touches them. Then the horse emerges, built at ladder height, her body physically embedded in the scale of the work.

Then found objects: her grandmother’s clothespins. Vinyl records. Keys fashioned into spurs.

Then resin, spread with a blowtorch. History sealed beneath glass.

Collectors discover new objects in their paintings years after purchase.The work never finishes revealing itself.

Ashley Collins · Coming to Relevant Galleries · May 8th

She slept on concrete floors so she could buy more paint.

She cooked meals on the same hot plate she used to melt wax onto canvas.

She spent years in Los Angeles — periodically homeless, sleeping in her car, in abandoned boats in the Venice marina — painting anyway.

Not for money. Not for recognition. Because she could not stop.

Ashley Collins is one of the most successful living female contemporary artists in the world. She built it entirely from the ground up and entirely against the grain.

Her introduction to Relevant Galleries arrives this May.

We’ll be sharing her story this week.

Relevant Galleries · Cherry Creek North