Obama-Era Diplomat Alexa Wesner Opens Aspen Home to Reveal Her Art Collection

Former U.S. Ambassador to Austria Alexa L. Wesner, appointed by President Obama, invited CULTURED into her Aspen home designed by Rowland+Broughton to discuss her art collection. The collection began in 2003 with a Mark Bradford work chosen from his studio. Wesner's collecting philosophy prioritizes emotional connection and personal relationships over market logic. Her time as ambassador, including participation in the Art in Embassies program where she showed Félix González-Torres at the Vienna residence, shifted her focus to art as cultural representation. Notable works in her collection include Kehinde Wiley, Chuck Close's Obama 2012 portrait, Oscar Muñoz's Narcissus, Tom Molloy's Protest, Erwin Wurm's Muttie, and pieces by Vija Celmins, Polly Morgan, Milena Muzquiz, and Vincenzo De Cotiis. Recent acquisitions include Huê Thi Hoffmaster, Lindsay Adams (commissioned for the Obama Presidential Center), and Tony Lewis. Her dream piece is an Ed Ruscha mountain painting. Wesner now lives in Aspen and emphasizes that art should be experienced and shared, not stored.