ASPEN, CO.- The Aspen Art Museum announces renowned artist Lawrence Weiner as the recipient of the 2017 Aspen Award for Art. The Award will be presented to Weiner at the annual AAM ArtCrush, held August 4, 2017. "Lawrence is a true friend of the museum, and one of the most significant contemporary artists of our time. It is an honor to present him with this award, where he joins an impressive and deserving list of past recipients," says Heidi Zuckerman, AAM Nancy and Bob Magoon CEO and Director.

Lawrence Weiner, one of the central figures of Conceptual art, was born in 1942, in New York. One of the first artists to "dematerialize" the art object into the medium of ideas and words, Weiner has been using language as a sculptural material for over thirty-five years. His pioneering practice is based on the idea that an artist can harness any material and present it as art without disrupting its everyday context. His Statement of Intent (1969) continues to be a succinct guiding principle for his work, emphasizing his interest in universal availability and highlighting the visual and spatial qualities of language.

1. The artist may construct the piece.

2. The piece may be fabricated.

3. The piece need not be built.

Since the seventies, Weiner has been best known for his striking wall "sculptures." Made using paint and vinyl, the works present provocative texts that remain open to interpretation, exploring structure and translation at their core. Expanding into the world—from the spaces of the gallery to the streets of the city—Weiner's work uses language to emphasize the relationship between human beings and objects. About

Established in 2005 to recognize individual artists who have made exemplary contributions to the expression and/or application of contemporary art, the Aspen Award for Art has been previously awarded to Richard Tuttle, Tony Feher, Jim Hodges, Ed Ruscha, Fred Tomaselli, Marilyn Minter, Roni Horn, Tom Sachs, Teresita Fernández, Ernesto Neto, Lorna Simpson, and Gabriel Orozco. The Award is given out each summer during the Aspen Art Museum's annual ARTCRUSH Events.

Lawrence Weiner (b. 1942, New York) lives and works in New York. Solo exhibitions have taken place at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2016); Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK (2015); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2014); Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain (2013); Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (both 2007); Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City (2004); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany (2000); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1994); and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (1990). He participated in Documenta 5, 6, 7, and 13 (1972, 1977, 1982, 2012), the 36th, 41st, 50th, and 55th Venice Biennales (1972, 1984, 2003, 2013) and the 27th São Paulo biennial, Brazil (2006). Among many additional honors, Weiner was awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1976, 1983), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1994), the Wolfgang Hahn Prize, Museum Ludwig, Cologne (1995), a Skowhegan Medal for Painting/Conceptual Art (1999), and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Graduate Center, City University of New York (2013). Most recently, he was bestowed the Wolf Arts Prize by the Wolf Foundation in Israel in January of this year.