Axel Livingston’s solo exhibit at Aspen Collective begins on Friday. Livingston grew up in Basalt and recently graduated from art school at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Roaring Fork Valley artist Axel Livingston’s show “Soul Bone” opens Friday at Aspen Collective and runs through Nov. 28.
Livingston, 23, recently graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. He left for college a mixed-media painter but returned to the valley as an accomplished sculptor who works on everything from large-scale pieces that incorporate elements found in nature to intimate glass and metal works.
Collective owner DJ Watkins said Livingston is nothing short of a phenom.
“Axel is one of the most talented and versatile artists I’ve ever come across as a curator focused on young and emerging artists in the valley,” Watkins said. “Its been incredible to see Axel’s artistic practice evolve from two-dimensional work to these incredible assemblages that combine cast iron, bone and glass that he is showing at the Collective. I think everyone who sees Axel’s work will be blown away by his talent and creativity.”
Livingston grew up in Basalt and attended Aspen Community School in Woody Creek.
“It was a very art- and music-driven school and I was surrounded by a lot of creativity and all these interesting people and things,” Livingston said. “We were always at the Woody Creek Tavern and I got really interested in a lot of the Gonzo history. I was really inspired by Ralph Steadman and the Tom Benton posters.”
Livingston enjoyed hunting for natural treasures as a child.
“One time I found an interesting rock in a stream in Old Snowmass,” he recalled. “I was sure it was a dinosaur fossil so we took it to a rock shop and the specialist said he thought it might be. I was probably 10 or 11 at the time so that could’ve been a white lie to keep my morale high, but it got me really excited and I continued looking for things everywhere I went. I later realized I wanted to make art out of these treasures. I placed them into a piece and it came to life — that is where the idea of the ‘soul bone’ came from.”
“Dust to Dust” is one of the pieces in Axel Livingston’s show “Soulbone” which opens on Friday at Aspen Collective. Livingston counts Aspen High School teacher Stephanie Nixon as one of his major influences.
Livingston got interested in drawing in middle school and gradually became determined to pursue art seriously. He said his biggest inspiration was Aspen High School art teacher Stephanie Nixon.
After graduating from high school in 2020, Livingston took a gap year and local gallerist Sam Harvey helped him get an affordable studio space at the 517 Artist Collective. Livingston had his first work shown at The Aspen Hatter when he was 17.
Watkins came across one of Livingston’s paintings at one of his client’s homes. Impressed, he held a show for the young artist at his Fat City Gallery when Livingston was 19.
“DJ giving me my own show was great for a lot of reasons, but it really gave me the confidence that I could make it as a working artist and it motivated me to go to art school and learn as much as I could about art and help me evolve as an artist,” Livingston said.
Nixon recommended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Livingston said his experience in Detroit was beyond his expectations. Rents were so cheap that one friend opened a gallery and provided exhibition space to his friends.
At CCS, Livingston had access to all the equipment and machines needed to make different kinds of art. He learned blacksmithing, woodworking, 3D modeling, ceramics, welding, blown glass and more. He became increasingly interested in sculpture and three-dimensional art.
“Having access to all these facilities was probably the biggest part of me getting into sculpture,” Livingston said. “All of the information was there and I just figured it would be foolish to not meddle around in these different studios. So I got my fingers into everything. That was basically my experience getting into sculpture.”
One of his professors was from Zimbabwe. He connected his students with artists there and they worked on a collaborative show that was held in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
“We made these pieces that were responding to the same theme,” Livingston said. “I made a wind chime and a Zimbabwe artist made one — it was this great collaboration and we went to Harare and had a show. It was so cool.”
Watkins said he felt the Zimbabwe experience had a profound effect on Livingston’s work.
“I think his experience in Zimbabwe really opened Axel’s eyes to materials, dimensionality and versatility,” Watkins said.
Livingston said he hopes “Soul Bone” will connect his viewers to nature in a new way.
“I think of the objects in my work as amulets or talismans that are spiritually charged,” he said. “So whether it’s a cool bone, or a cool piece of driftwood, or a stone, or a mineral or a crystal, these are the soul bones that activate the piece. These sculptures are intended to exalt these organic treasures, and I hope they bring people closer to the natural world.
“These pieces are tributes to nature and represent these incredible awe moments that I’ve had that have made me devotional to the natural world. I hope my audience is mindful about their own relationship to nature and humanity’s relationship on a broader scale. I hope they leave relaxed, and just generally peaceful,” he added.
