Courtesy photo
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series, in honor of International Women’s Month, that shines a spotlight on the dynamic women of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.
Elizabeth Iacullo, gallery director for Aspen’s Galerie Maximillian, started her career making art as a sculptor and painter, but it was falling in love with the work of other artists that powered her journey through the art world.
As an undergraduate, she studied art history with minors in studio art and philosophy at La Salle University in Philadelphia and earned a Master’s degree in contemporary art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in NYC, where she focused on art in public spaces.
Summers spent as a docent and museum gallery aide at the Pollock–Krasner House in East Hampton left an indelible mark on her.
“I started a summer internship while I was home on Long Island and ended up reading every single book on Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner,” Iacullo said. “I got so tired of hearing her referred to as the ‘wife of the artist.’ Krasner’s work and seeing the negative space and ghost images of the artwork in their studio and walking through their bedroom and the natural spaces that inspired the artists to create inspired me more than a single piece of art on its own.”
That passion led her to work in galleries in Philadelphia, New York City, Telluride, and the Hamptons. In addition, she spent time as a mural conservator restoring murals by WPA artists and in buildings (such as the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the NY Public Library, and Rockefeller Center) and had a role in the conservation of the two Fernand Leger murals in the General Assembly Room of the United Nations.
She also worked as a project manager for a New Orleans-based artist and urban planner Candy Chang where she helped communities bring public murals to their cities.
These days, she admits that seeing and learning about art has become far more than a professional pursuit. It’s become an “insatiable passion” that causes her to eat, sleep, and think about art all the time.
Her other passion is having a “raging support for all things female.”
The Aspen Times arts and entertainment editor Sarah Girgis connected with Iacullo to discuss her move to Aspen and how she feels the industry has shifted for female artists in recent years.
The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Sarah Girgis: Before coming to Aspen you were working in the center of the American art scene in New York. What makes you want to leave that behind?
Elizabeth Iacullo: My last job before I moved here was in the Hamptons as the gallery director at Mark Borghi Fine Art. I lived in Telluride, Colorado, right out of college, and, like what happens to all of us, I got to the mountains and was like, ‘Oh my god. This is amazing.’ And I kind of always dreamed about coming back but didn’t think I could make a career in Colorado. I had a client who bought art from me in the Hamptons and also bought art from Albert Sanford, owner of Galerie Maximillian here in Aspen. He serendipitously put me in touch with Albert, and he was looking for someone, so I moved here. It’s been seven years now, and it’s been great.
SG: What do you love about working with art?
EI: Through my travels all over the world experiencing other cultures and seeing firsthand art in different environments makes it fun to understand aesthetics — bonus points if I get to learn about cultural and historical reasons for art to be made.
Sign me up to be immersed in history and understand why things are made in context. Reading, asking questions, and being curious beyond what I can see in front of me have become a huge part of my professional development and wealth of knowledge.
I’m able to understand people’s styles and wants and needs pretty quickly, and I have such fun spending time with clients and understanding their styles and tastes.
SG: How has the art world evolved since you began your career?
EI: The shift in the art world from the micro, like small regional museums and small-town galleries and people with small collections acquiring what they love with no investment interests … to the macro of blockbusters, internationally-traveling exhibitions and global auction records and art history books being rewritten to include women artists (or leaving male artists out completely, shout out Katy Hessel) … women artists are finally getting their due. And I’m excited to see it continue and do my small part to help with that.
SG: Galerie Maximillian has done a great job by bringing in more female artists; what are you finding in the art world regarding the demand for work from these artists?
EI: I have always been super passionate about female artists and more diverse collections, and Albert (Sanford) started carrying Mary Cassatt back when he opened the gallery in 1997.
I’m super excited that the markets have caught up with the idea that these artists that were underrepresented, are important. Everything’s changed, and the momentum is incredibly exciting. I can’t emphasize enough how excited I am by the shift in the market.
I hope that diversity in terms of recognizing the stories of others, whether other looks like female, queer, non-binary, or people of different races just keeps growing.
SG: Has the Aspen community been receptive to new artists and perspectives?
EI: Galerie Maximillian has been here for 26 years now, and Albert has done an incredible job building the business; so lucky for me that I work in an environment where I put a piece of art on the wall, and people trust us.
We’re excited about the female artists we represent, and in the grand scheme of things, the representation of female artists worldwide.