05/12/2026
“You think this is ugly? I think this is pretty. I’m going to show you that this has other ideas.” —Arch Connelly
Born on this day in 1950 in Chicago, Arch Connelly moved to San Francisco after art school, where he designed sets for the Cockettes and Angels of Light before relocating to New York in 1980. There, he became a beloved fixture of the East Village, known for bridging the streetwise attitudes of downtown New York and San Francisco’s psychedelic utopianism.
Connelly’s practice across collage, sculpture, and painting draws upon historical traditions of Mannerism and the Baroque, challenging traditional distinctions between fine art and ornament. His representations of American landscapes recur as motifs imbued with mystique and glamour, expressed through transcendent form and heightened color.
Opening June 12, Aspen Art Museum presents Arch Connelly: Straighten Your Wig and Pray, the first museum survey dedicated to his work—including pieces unseen publicly for more than thirty-five years.