Aspen Art Museum

Moving easily between painting, drawing, and sculpture, artist Alan Shields (1944–2005) displayed a deep appreciation of material and color throughout his practice. Interested in opening up a broader context in which art could be experienced, he created objects that hang freely in space and are experienced in relation to the movement of the human body. His brightly colored, layered works illustrate Shields’s belief in a direct connection between art and life, revealing a multifaceted practice that merges the sculptural, the painterly, and the theatrical.