PARTNERS
Artists participating in the Aspen Mountain Artist Residency programs have the opportunity of exhibiting their work in our two galleries located in the heart of Aspen providing exhibition spaces and sales platforms
Aspen Collective Gallery
Aspen Collective is a contemporary art gallery located in the heart of Aspen within the historic Wheeler Opera House. The gallery represents emerging and established artists from the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. The gallery serves as a community gathering space for events, openings, talks, and dinners where we champion Elizabeth and Walter Paepcke’s original Aspen idea where the mind, body, and spirit come together.
Fat City Gallery
Fat City Gallery (previously Gonzo Gallery) displays political posters by activist Thomas W. Benton, gun shot art by journalist Hunter S. Thompson, artwork by the illustrator Ralph Steadman as well as work by leading contemporary artists and photographers.
The Team
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Daniel Watkins
FOUNDER
Daniel Joseph Watkins is a writer, curator, and director based in Aspen, Colorado. His first book, Thomas W. Benton: Artist/Activist, won the Colorado Book Award and his second book, Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson’s Campaign for Sheriff, served as the inspiration for the documentary film Freak Power. His third book, To Aspen And Back is a republication of Peggy Clifford’s classic novel about Aspen updated with images curated by National Geographic photographer David Hiser. Watkins runs the publishing company Meat Possum Press and serves as director of the Fat City Gallery and Aspen Collective Gallery where he has curated five museum shows and over one hundred exhibitions with more than sixty artists. Watkins created the Aspen Art Walk and is writing a new book titled Dreams & Dilemmas highlighting the artists and intellectuals that make Aspen unique.
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Andre "Myxz" Nichols
GENERAL MANAGER
Myxz is a multidisciplinary artist, carpenter, designer, natural builder, and regenerative farmer based in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica and Aspen. As the founder of RAMA (Regenerative Agroecology & Mindful Action), a syntropic agroforestry project and digitally disconnected immersive jungle program, Myxz weaves together ecological stewardship, land-based living, creative expression, plant medicine, and soul evolution. Through RAMA, he facilitates transformative experiences that connect people to nature, art, sustainable food systems, ancestral ways of building and being, but most importantly to the themselves and others vibrating at the same frequency.
With over a decade of experience in sustainable farming practices, natural building design, event production and large-scale art installations, Myxz brings a visionary and hands-on approach to both creative and ecological projects. His work integrates permaculture, syntropic agroforestry, sacred geometry, building with natural materials, and community-based collaboration.
His work bridges worlds—urban and rural, ancient and modern, artistic and ecological—always rooted in a deep reverence for the Earth. -

Chanel Host
CURATOR
Marlena Chanel Host is a curatorial design professional with over a decade of experience in development across the art, design, and luxury fashion industries. She is currently the Director of Sales at Hexton Gallery, a leading contemporary art gallery in Aspen, where she works closely with collectors, curators, and designers to shape forward-thinking exhibitions and acquisitions.
Chanel spent six years at R & Company in New York, a globally recognized leader in collectible design, where she led the launch of the gallery’s seasonal program in Aspen and helped position both historical and contemporary design within international markets. Her experience also includes a yearlong fellowship at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and VIP relations at Frieze.
Raised in Boulder, Chanel is the third-generation woman in her family to graduate from the University of Colorado, where she earned a B.A. in Art History and Literature. She completed her Master’s in Design History and Curatorial Studies at Parsons, Paris. Her academic and professional work explores the intersections of modern and contemporary design and art, with an emphasis on cultural communities.
Having lived and worked in both Paris and New York, Chanel brings a global perspective to her practice while remaining deeply connected to her Colorado roots. Known for her intuitive approach to collaboration and her cross-disciplinary network, she produces thoughtful, community-driven programming that connects people through art, design, and shared experience.
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Christina Roig
CURATOR
Christina Grace Roig is a Puerto Rican curator, art consultant, and ceramicist currently based in Aspen, Colorado. She serves as an Art Consultant at Hexton Gallery, where she works closely with private collectors, artists, and institutions to shape thoughtful, lasting collections. Prior to her move to Aspen, she directed an art gallery in Puerto Rico specializing in Latin American and contemporary art, leading curatorial programs and artist representation with a strong emphasis on material exploration and cultural context.Christina holds a Master’s degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London and brings nearly a decade of professional experience across the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. Her background combines curatorial writing, market analysis, and design thinking, with a deep appreciation for the tactile and spatial language of art. She is particularly interested in collections that blend mediums such as painting, sculpture, textiles, and functional design.
In addition to her work at Hexton, Christina engages in curatorial writing for international projects, offering text-based support for exhibitions, artist portfolios, and institutional collaborations. She also maintains a ceramic practice informed by balance, material sensitivity, and a quiet fascination with process. Her love for design extends across disciplines, and she approaches each project with a refined eye, a collaborative spirit, and a belief in the emotional and visual power of form.