The Aspen Art Museum. Photo: Michael Moran / OTTO.

Aspen may not be the first place that comes to mind when considering summer destinations, but the Aspen art fair, combined with an exciting roster of gallery and museum shows, make this Colorado city the perfect place for a mid-August art vacation. The first stop on our tour is the Aspen Art Museum, featuring four different exhibitions, including the acclaimed “Chris Ofili: Night and Day.” For those of you who missed this show when it was on view at the New Museum in New York, this is a good opportunity to see the artist’s impressive body of work, which encompasses five galleries on three levels of the museum.

Photography fans will be happy to know that Aspen offers up some big names this month, including Robert Mapplethorpe, whose works are on display at Baldwin Gallery, and Ansel Adams, with images spanning seven decades of his career on view at Quintenz Gallery. For a change of pace, stop by 212Gallery, which is featuring mixed-media pieces and paintings by contemporary artists Miya Ando and Karen Gunderson, whose contrasting work explores the beauty and mystery inherent in nature. Whatever your reasons for being in Aspen this summer, the city is sure to provide plenty to see for every art lover, so enjoy!

Miya Ando, Pink Leaf Mandala. Courtesy of 212Gallery.

Exhibition: “Miya Ando & Karen Gunderson”
When: July 21–August 15, 2015 (last call)
Where: 212Gallery, 525 E. Cooper Avenue, Aspen, CO

Kris Cox, Speedboat Chapter (2015). Courtesy of Forré & Co. Fine Art.

Exhibition: “Kris Cox: Survey Show, 1995–2015”
When: July 30–August 27, 2015
Where: Forré & Co. Fine Art, 426 E. Hyman Avenue, Aspen, CO

Sarah Graham, Monstera (2015). Courtesy of Galerie Maximillian.

Exhibition: “Sarah Graham: New Drawings”
When: July 29–August 28, 2015
Where: Galerie Maximillian, 602 E. Cooper Avenue, Aspen, CO

Peter Coffin, Bronze Rope Hands (2014). Courtesy of Baldwin Gallery.

Exhibition: “Peter Coffin: Lines”
When: July 28, 2015–September 7, 2015
Where: Baldwin Gallery, 209 S. Galena Street, Aspen, CO

Robert Mapplethorpe, Sphinx (1988). Courtesy of Baldwin Gallery.

Exhibition: “Robert Mapplethorpe: The Object”
When: July 28, 2015–September 7, 2015
Where: Baldwin Gallery, 209 S. Galena Street, Aspen, CO

Ansel Adams, Aspens, Northern New Mexico (c.1958). Courtesy of Quintenz Gallery.

Exhibition: “Ansel Adams: Masterworks from Seven Decades, 1928–1982”
When: July 10, 2015–September 8, 2015
Where: Quintenz Gallery, 613 E. Cooper Avenue, Suite 108, Aspen, CO

Bernie Taupin, Black and Blues (2014). Courtesy of Gallery 1949.

Exhibition: “Bernie Taupin“
When: August 15–September 15, 2015
Where: Gallery 1949, 402 S, Hunter Street, Aspen, CO

Chris Ofili, Afro Red Web (2002). Courtest of the Aspen Art Museum.

Exhibition: “Chris Ofili: Night and Day”
When: July 17–November 1, 2015
Where: Aspen Art Museum, 637 E. Hyman Avenue, Aspen, CO

T. Glendening Hamilton, The T’Zan Teleplasm (1933). Courtesy of the Aspen Art Museum.

Exhibition: “Spirit Photography”
When: July 17–November 1, 2015
Where: Aspen Art Museum, 637 E. Hyman Avenue, Aspen, CO