The multimedia artist’s geometric patterns are emblazoned across a limited collection of technical skiwear designed by the Italian house
Words by ELIZABETH VARNELL
Photography by JOHN RUSSO
A landscape fractal drawing Paula Crown created in 2012, which has previously been scaled and realized in wood, glass and paintings, is now the primary source of inspiration for the artist’s latest project: a limited-edition performance skiwear collection designed with Prada and Aspen ski pros. The curated selection of menswear and womenswear, AspenX Prada, is a striking study of contrasts. A white background is slashed through with black geometric marks derived from the fractals in Crown’s art. “My work is about taking ideas and manifesting them in the world,” says Crown, a cross-disciplinary artist who sees shapes in marks on landscapes, trails through terrain and even the slashes left by skis across snow atop Aspen Mountain. “Ideas can live in different forms and can communicate various emotions,” she adds.
Crown has an eye for complex patterns and bold statements. Her public art includes large-scale sculptures of crushed red Solo cups, part of her “Solo Together” series aimed at calling attention to single-use plastic as well as a series of arresting billboard and bus bench images created for Los Angeles’ For Freedoms Congress organized in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Hammer Museum and other arts institutions around the city. “Paula’s always creating, zooming in for details and zooming out for the big picture,” says photographer John Russo who shot the AspenX Prada collection in his Los Angeles studio.
The new collaboration debuts on the 75th anniversary of the Aspen Skiing Company, owned by the Crown family who also counts the Ojai Valley Inn among their holdings, and each design is informed by the on-mountain team’s mobility and safety standards. Two waterproof jacket designs for women and two for men incorporate Prada Linea Rosa sustainable textiles and are made with Prada’s three-layer Extreme-Tex and lined with Graphene padding to regulate body temps. Ready-to-wear recycled double jersey graphic après-ski sweatshirts round out the offering. Each piece includes the black angular marks writ large, Crown’s nod to the singular landscape and creative culture of Aspen.
AspenX Gondola Plaza, 611 E. Durant Ave., Aspen, 970-920-6355. Launch party Friday, February 18, 6 pm-8 pm at AspenX Mountain Club at the top of Aspen Mountain.
February 15, 2022
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