With such an anticlimactic U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale this year, organized in part by a pet store owner and former Apprentice contestant, one longs for the days when the people in government funding art actually knew about it. Alexa L. Wesner, a former ambassador to Austria appointed by President Obama, spent years thinking carefully about what art communicates and to whom. The experience—including showing work by Félix González-Torres at the ambassador’s Vienna residence, as part of the Art in Embassies program—expanded her understanding of collecting beyond the personal and raised questions that still shape how she acquires work today.
Today, the DC native dwells in Aspen, where her home, designed by local architecture and interior design firm Rowland+Broughton, holds an enviable collection built over decades through personal relationships, diplomatic postings, and a commitment to following genuine connection over market logic. Wesner invited CULTURED in to talk about her dream Ed Ruscha, art as cultural exchange, and her search for solace in the works she surrounds herself with.
Where does the story of your personal collection begin?
The collection really began with a work by Mark Bradford. In 2003, we spent time with him in his studio, and he generously offered us any piece we connected with. Of course, we loved everything, but we chose one.
What stayed with me wasn’t just the work itself, but the convergence of the work, his story, and who he is as a person. That trifecta continues to guide how I collect. It’s what makes a piece something you genuinely want to live with every day.
Which work in your home tends to provoke the strongest reaction from visitors?
The Kehinde Wiley tends to stop people immediately. It’s a striking work on its own, but it’s also about placement. It greets you as you enter the house, so there’s an immediate sense of scale, presence, and recognition all at once. Another piece that consistently sparks conversation is Protest by Tom Molloy. The work draws on imagery from decades of global demonstrations—civil rights, women’s rights, and broader political movements—layered together in a way that feels both urgent and intentionally direct. It resonates deeply with me, given my own time in public service and my belief in the enduring importance of civic engagement and constitutional principles.
Which factors tend to guide you when exploring new acquisitions?
I collect for connection and an emotional response, not strategy. I want to live with the work. I don’t believe art should sit in storage. It should be experienced, shared, and woven into daily life.
Over time, my taste has evolved. Earlier on, I was more drawn to provocation. Now I find myself gravitating toward beauty, meaning, and work that carries cultural or historical resonance. Vija Celmins’s work speaks for itself, but my connection to it is also deeply personal. She was born in the same city and in the same year as my father, in Riga, Latvia, which gives the work an added sense of history and intimacy for me. The work in my collection needs to challenge me, but it also needs to sustain me.
“There’s an intimacy to Aspen that allows for real dialogue around art. You don’t just see great collections, you talk about them.”—Alexa L. Wesner
As an ambassador, you participated in the State Department’s Art in Embassies program, including hosting art shows in your own residence. How did your thinking about collecting and showing art change during that time?
Serving as an ambassador made me think about art as a form of representation. Through the Art in Embassies program, I felt both a responsibility and a privilege to present not only American policy but American identity. I focused on contemporary American artists, many of whom had immigrant backgrounds, whose work reflected the country’s complexity and openness. It became less about personal taste and more about storytelling, about what a collection can communicate regarding who we are and what we value.
Are there younger artists working today who are particularly exciting to you right now?
At this point, anyone younger than me is a “young artist.” I recently acquired a work by Huê Thi Hoffmaster, whose practice feels both delicate and deeply intentional. There’s a quiet complexity in the way material and narrative come together. Lindsay Adams’s work is emotionally charged in a way that feels immediate without becoming overstated. There’s a confidence in her storytelling that stays with you. She’s also originally from Washington, DC, and was recently commissioned for the Obama Presidential Center. Tony Lewis brings a different kind of rigor. His text-based works are restrained, but they unfold over time and ask you to slow down and really look.
What is your dream piece to complement your Aspen home?
One of Ed Ruscha’s mountain paintings. The landscape becomes a stage, and the word the event. In an Aspen context, that tension feels especially resonant: set against a place defined by vast natural beauty, the work both mirrors and disrupts its surroundings, bringing a conceptual voice into dialogue with the landscape itself.
More of our favorite stories from CULTURED
An Exclusive Look Inside the Property That Houses Jorge M. Pérez’s Sweeping Art Collection
How Lillian Bassman’s Groundbreaking Career Reinvented Fashion Photography
Here’s All the Must-See TV Streaming in July
Peak Summer Is Here. Skip the Stove With These Dishes Best Served From the Fridge.
Sign up for our newsletter here to get these stories direct to your inbox.
in your life?
