Lisson Gallery: Lucy Raven and Deantoni Parks to Stage 'Murderers Bar' in Aspen
The Facts
On July 28, 2026, at 8:30 p.m., Lucy Raven and Deantoni Parks will present a film-performance of Raven's 'Murderers Bar' (2025) at T-Lazy-7 Ranch in the Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen, Colorado. The outdoor event, produced with the Aspen Music Festival and School, marks the first open-air screening of the film, projected vertically on a curved screen amid aspens with Pyramid Peak as backdrop. The work traces the aftermath of the largest dam removal in U.S. history on the Klamath River in Northern California, using aerial and underwater cinematography to document the river's renewed flow and the return of salmon. Co-commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vega Foundation, 'Murderers Bar' is the final installment in Raven's series 'The Drumfire' (2021–25), which examines infrastructural systems and material transformation under pressure. The performance features an ensemble of strings, percussion, and wind instruments led by Parks, whose newly commissioned score responds to the film's rhythms of flow and rupture.
The Signal
The alpine setting amplifies the film's themes, creating a landscape within a landscape that underscores the fragility and resilience of river ecosystems and the entanglement of human activity with the environment. The work centers on the Klamath River dam removal, which followed decades of advocacy by Tribal Nations including the Yurok, Karuk, Klamath, and Shasta Indian Nation, and is part of a broader restoration effort for threatened salmon habitats. For collectors and curators, this presentation signals Raven's continued engagement with large-scale environmental narratives and live performance, positioning her as a key voice in contemporary art addressing infrastructure and ecological justice. The collaboration with Aspen Music Festival also highlights the growing intersection of visual art and live music in site-specific contexts.
- Artists: Lucy Raven, Deantoni Parks
- People: Lucy Raven, Deantoni Parks
- Galleries: Lisson Gallery
- Museums: Aspen Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery
- Locations: Aspen
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