Christy Hengst : Un-Known Paths

Opening Reception for Un-Known Paths by Christy Hengst, featuring a site-specific music performance by Awl and a set by DJ Oli.

Awl presents Flightless, an original piece of music comprised of manipulated field recordings and found sound. Flightless melds the chatter of the streets, quivering aspens, a summer storm, and more to paint a sonic landscape investigating a felt sense of place. Awl is Ryan Kulas, a musician and multi-media artist with an affinity for electronic music that comes alive through creative sound design.

Un-known Paths explores themes of pathways, stillness, and listening. Developing from decades of hiking the land around Santa Fe, many of the paintings cluster around specific paths (Sun Mountain, Aspen Vista, Chamisa Trail) or specific plants encountered along the way (yucca, mullein, piñon). Hengst gathers material and field research in the form of drawings, writing, and photography.

As much as this work is about specific places, it’s also about returning to a place of not-knowing and building intimacy through renewed curiosity. A meditation cushion sits facing the painting in Hengst’s studio. When unsure what comes next, she sits and listens — as she says, it’s a conversation.

Ripped selections of zen books, as well as Hengst’s own written notes, form the foundations for many of the paintings. The text often becomes obscured by drawing and painting. Nevertheless, the text – chewed, swallowed, and transmuted – becomes an important layer in the character of these pieces.

This exhibition will also include some new birds, descended from the traveling public art project ‘birds in the park’.

During the month-long exhibition there will be a series of special events, including music, movement and poetry. For schedule and more information, go to ChristyHengst.com