Studio Break Podcast Interview
2020.11.2

David Linneweh at Studio Break Podcast and I talked in October 2020 about some of my early work and a range of approaches that I use in my paintings. We discuss mark making and an intuitive process, which sometimes includes using the grid and radial compositions that begin with flicking paint on the canvas. Hope you’ll listen and also check out the 238+ artist interviews over at Studio Break.


"Studio Break is a podcast hosted by David Linneweh with a focus on providing a platform for visual artists to share their work and provide an in-depth look into their studio practice. In the fall of 2011, Dave visited the studio of John Reddington a multimedia artist, friend, and fellow MFA alumni of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. On a whim, the discussion from John’s studio was recorded and highlighted John’s background, education in the arts, life experience, and the endeavor of making work in the studio. This visit echoed the discussions that often occupy communal studio spaces where artists often talk about what they're working on while sipping coffee and taking a studio break."

Interview with LOL/WOW/SOS
2019.12.14

LIVE CONVERSATION: DANA PASILA INTERVIEWS JILL CHRISTIAN


December 10, 2019

Recorded by Liselott Johnsson (https://www.liselottjohnsson.com)

https://www.lolwowsos.com/interviews/pasilachristian

https://www.facebook.com/LOLWOWSOS/posts/163484291693746


Jill Christian makes beautiful and meditative abstract paintings inspired by the distances, sky and rhythm of the landscapes surrounding Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she lives and works. In the post below, she will be interviewed by Dana Pasila, who lives and works in Weston, Ontario, Canada. We look forward to learning more about Jill’s paintings, her artistic practice and her thoughts on abstract painting today.


LOL/WOW/SOS: Hello Dana and Jill, thank you for allowing us to follow your conversation here on LOL/WOW/SOS. Looking forward to visiting New Mexico and learning more about Jill's work!


Jill Christian: Thank you LOL/ WOW/ SOS! Dana Pasila, I'm looking forward to our conversation!


Dana Pasila: Hello Jill! Happy to begin the conversation and looking forward to finding out more about your artistic process, your inspirations , and your thoughts on abstract painting. Could we start on the practical side, with hearing a little about your studio space and your location in New Mexico, and perhaps also your routine or your approach to your studio painting sessions?


Jill Christian: Hi Dana! It’s so nice to have this time with you here. My studio is in a garage, at my home in Albuquerque, NM. I live not far from a path along one of Albuquerque’s acequias. These are communal irrigation ditches with a centuries-old history in New Mexico’s arid landscape. The acequias are now used for both agriculture and recreation and they provide vibrant green space and walking trails through parts of the city near the Rio Grande river. Walking in these areas is an important source of my inspiration and renewal.


My studio time ebbs and flows with what else is happening in my life. Right now, I mostly work evenings and weekends. My paintings are frequently about the color – and sensation or visual rhythm – of something that has caught my eye, often out in the landscape. So I often spend a lot of time mixing colors. This is also how I “warm up” in the studio. I begin by painting (typically) monochromatic backgrounds until the color feels right to me. Then I can begin the painting.


Dana Pasila: Great to hear about the connection to landscape, the sense of growth and renewal around you. I so appreciate the unique sense of motion in your work, as though the wind is forming patterns and waves in the brushstrokes. Your use of colour stands out also in unusual combinations and contrasts. I find in the meditative quality of your brushstrokes, there is an aliveness and ease at the same time. Do your paintings become something different from the idea you begin with, or do you hold a visual reference in mind while you’re working? I’m curious to learn also how long you have been painting primarily in abstract imagery and how this has changed over time.


Jill Christian: I would say that there is a back and forth between my original intention and what happens while I’m painting. I use the visual reference as a starting point. But not infrequently the painting will go in another direction. With what I’ll call my field paintings, which have an overall tonality and brushstrokes are placed one after the other, I can’t really know what’s going to happen until I am quite far into it. It’s a series of intuitive decisions within a general parameter that I’ve set based on color. I don’t want it to be overly controlled. And I just have to trust it and keep going to the end.


About two years ago, I felt a need to break away from using a gridded structure. I’ve always been interested in the repeated gesture and mark. And I created a series of paintings where the marks coalesced into organic shapes or units. I was interested in how these collections of marks and their proximities to each other created almost narratives about their relationship to each other. And most recently, I’ve been looking at and thinking about lace patterns and stitches. I’m not literally painting stitches, but the way the brush marks sit on the field of the support and create rhythms and organic references is something I find interesting and exciting and beautiful. I’m also interested in a macro-micro relationships and repeating units. One thing becoming something else.


I’ve been painting primarily abstract imagery for many years – at least since the mid-90s. But my way of working has become more abstract over time. Though I still love to draw and paint from life and I keep a sketchbook.


Dana Pasila: Thank you Jill, it’s very interesting you use the word narrative in relationship to your imagery; my first thought in looking at your work was that the individual marks create narratives that emerge precisely because the imagery is abstract. I love that!! I do find that abstract imagery speaks a language if we let it, or if the work captures our imagination.


There is such beauty arising from the field paintings due to your colour choices and the almost textile-like brushstrokes, and in learning your process, I think that quality of spontaneity and precision creates a dynamic contrast that scintillates across the surface. I see that the ground is very important in building the image, like demarcating a space that becomes a field of possibility. I’m also interested in your recent printmaking sessions, and how you worked out the transition from paint to print - which I found to be really successful. How did you enjoy that process? Was this a new technique for you?


Jill Christian: The prints I shared are lithographs and this was completely new to me. I made these during a two week student-printer collaborative residency at Tamarind Institute this past March. Tamarind Institute (https://tamarind.unm.edu) is a truly amazing facility that began in Los Angeles in 1960 with a mission to revitalize and preserve fine art lithography. It is now (since the ‘70s) part of the University of New Mexico, and each year trains future master lithographers in its printer training program. I worked with two students in the program, Arel Lisette Peckler (https://www.arellisettepeckler.com/) and Mike Feijen (https://www.instagram.com/mawrz/). I can’t say enough in praise of the staff and students, especially as an artist who was completely new to the collaborative printmaking process. I loved it, and it was also very challenging.


Because I work intuitively – and alone! – in the studio, I had to find a way to translate my way of working with paint into the lithographic process. And when I say “I” had to find a way, I must give credit to the Arel and Mike who actually did the work of helping me find the right materials and plate process to make these prints happen. I was appreciative of the level of sensitivity and creative empathy that’s required of collaborative printers.


One challenge was to think and work in layers with a temporal and material lag. Or, perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I guessed in layers and hoped everything would work out! I did some preliminary work in paint on mylars, so that I could start to imagine how the plates would print. Then, we moved on to working directly on plates. The lag is that I would work on the plates or mylar, and then they would disappear with the printers. There were tests. At one point, a layer really didn’t work. So we redid the plate. On Blue Swerve, we switched the order of the printing of the plates when the original order didn’t have the result we wanted.


Another challenge was that there are things that get locked in at a certain point. Because of the expense and labor involved, and of course the time constraints, there are decision points that happen. You make commitments that at some point you can't change as you move further into the process. Like plate size. And ink selection.


It was also a new experience to not be able to adjust color spontaneously as I painted and have the paint mix on the surface. I worked in black tusche and flasche on the plates and mylar. I had to imagine the color. But that also allowed a lot of attention on the texture and quality of the mark.


I see potential for this experience influencing my painting. In particular, my desire to think about how to bring more space and air into my painting. I had to think differently of how I build my backgrounds, what you beautifully described as “a field of possibility”. Working with the white of the paper was wonderful. Since Tamarind I’ve dipped my toes back into monoprinting, and I see myself doing more printmaking in the future.


Dana Pasila: Wonderful description of your time at Tamarind and the process Jill! I can imagine how unfamiliar it is to work with other people on your own images but very rewarding. I love the variety of mark-making in the litho images that you achieved and the lightness they captured, they have a ‘dancing’ quality to them. They really complement the sensibility of your paintings too, almost like counterpoints in the narrative, but part of the continuum of your imagery.


Dana Pasila: I would like to explore a couple of questions that have come to mind regarding abstract art and your particular path to the work you are doing now. The first one is to find out about some of the artists that you hold close to your heart so to speak, they could be direct or indirect influences/colleagues or friends. Would you share with us some of the people you find important to your work today? The other question has to do with your relationship to nature as an influence, guide, and inspiration. Expanding on this a little, seeing the effects of climate change and its prominence as a worldwide issue, I find that it is changing my relationship to my work in different ways. Knowing the connection to nature inspires and sustains your practice, has the reality of a changing environment affected you as an artist, your imagery or your relationship to abstract imagery?


Jill Christian: My artist friends are incredibly important. I belong to a group of five women artists who live in Santa Fe and Galisteo and we meet monthly in each other’s studios. We call ourselves The Lady Minimalists Tea Society. The monthly ritual of getting together and showing each other what we’re working on gives me support and connection and also keeps me engaged in ideas and questions about art making. It’s so interesting to watch other artists make decisions about their work and follow their threads over time. I belong to another group in Albuquerque. We meet less frequently, but they have also enriched my life. I also have two artist friends who live in California. We met at a workshop several years ago and decided to regularly connect for accountability and support. We email weekly, Skype monthly, and once a year get together over a long weekend for visioning, planning, and goal setting. There are so many more people and artists I could talk about that I’d need several pages!


I resist pinning down influences, I think because I find there’s some fluidity there. There are particular aspects of many different artists that I feel a pull towards and that influence me. Or sometimes individual paintings will stay with me or spark something in me. I’ll always feel my roots in gestural abstraction. I love de Kooning and Joan Mitchell. I’ve also been influenced by looking at painters like Louise Fishman and Joan Snyder. And then there is Agnes Martin. My own work moved from gestural abstraction into work based on repeated brushstrokes. There I feel some threads from Robert Ryman and Marcia Hafif. I also really love Alma Thomas. These artists helped free me up to explore brushstroke and color in and of themselves. I love the facture of the painted surface and I’m drawn to surfaces that are sensual and show evidence of the hand in the materials.


You asked whether the climate crisis we are living through is affecting me as an artist. As an individual, it’s something I think about every single day and frankly feel quite overwhelmed and distressed about. I feel a deep unease – like nothing can be counted on continuing as before. When I feel particularly upset, I question whether I should be making paintings at all. I don’t have an answer. In my personal life, I have tried as best I can to raise my awareness and change how I consume goods and energy and handle my waste. I vote. I support groups that I feel are doing good work. That doesn’t change my distress.


I feel that the relationship between my artwork and climate crisis is evolving. And I’m not sure what the end result will be. But I keep coming back to knowing that interacting with the natural world is a source of solace and wonder to me. Back in the studio, it’s a bit like wanting to hold on to something, to remember it, to know it better, and return to it. Making art, viewing art, isn’t going to solve any problems. But I do see art as a way to understand, interpret, think about, and connect with myself, other people, and the world around me. I do hope that aesthetic experiences – whether interacting with art or natural or human-made environments – creates some kind of bond and connection to this beautiful and miraculous world.


LOL/WOW/SOS: Jill, thank you for sharing your thoughts on your creative process and your art. Dana, thank you for your insightful questions. Both illuminating and poetic, your conversation has been a joy to read!


LOL/WOW/SOS: For more information about Jill Christian’s art, please consult: www.jillchristian.com

LOL/WOW/SOS: To learn more about Dana Pasila’s art, please refer to: www.danapasila.com


Harwood Art Center Prelude Exhibition
2019.12.14
ArtsThive at The Albuquerque Museum
2019.10.19
This fall, I will have four paintings available in The Albuquerque Museum's ArtsThrive exhibition. These paintings are an extension of the botanical-inspired studies I began at my Tamarind Institute residency in March. Each are 16x16 acrylic on panel. My paintings will be available for purchase on the Albuquerque Museum website through December 8: https://albuquerquemuseumfoundation.org/shop/.


ArtsThrive

The Albuquerque Museum

October 20 - December 8, 2019

Opening Gala: Saturday, October 29


Argemone, acrylic on panel, 16x16 in.

Achillea, acrylic on panel, 16x16 in.

Artemesia, acrylic on panel, 16x16 in.

Allium, acrylic on panel, 16x16 in.

PaperWest at Gittens Gallery, University of Utah
2019.8.24

Blue Swerve, a lithograph completed with printer Mike Feijin during my Tamarind collaborative printmaking residency in March 2019 will be included in PaperWest.

Organized by the Department of Art & Art History at the University of Utah, this national competitive juried exhibitions showcase contemporary works on paper.  This year's juror was Judith Brodsky.
 
PaperWest
Alvin Gittins Gallery
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
https://www.art.utah.edu/event/paperwest-exhibition/
 
October 7 – November 1, 2019
Reception: Wednesday, October 9th, 2019, 6-8pm
Gallery Hours: M-F 8am-5pm
 
Collaborative Printer: Mike Feijen
A 2019/2020 Tamarind Apprentice Printer, Mike Feijen, born in the Netherlands (1993), completed his BFA and MFA at the PXL-MAD School of Arts in Hasselt, Belgium. In Belgium he and two of his closest friends started the ScHmieGd collective, a place for artists to experiment.  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mawrz
 
Juror: Judith Brodsky
Judith K. Brodsky is Distinguished Professor Emerita, Visual Arts, Rutgers University and Founding Director (1986) of the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, renamed Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions in her honor. In 2018, the Brodsky Center joined the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Over 300 artists have created works at the center and these projects are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Bibliothèque Nationale, Victoria & Albert, and the Stadtsmuseum, Berlin.  She has held leadership positions in the art world, including as national president of ArtTable, the College Art Association, and the Women’s Caucus for Art (established in 1972).  Brodsky’s work is in over 100 permanent collections including the Library of Congress, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Fogg Museum, Harvard.

Image:
Jill Christian
Blue Swerve
28 x 22 in.
5-run, 5-color lithograph printed on Arches 88
2019
Collaborating Printer: Mike Feijin, Tamarind Institute
Edition of 10
 

Lady Minimalists Tea Society Exhibition Together/Apart Opens at the Hardesty Center August 2, 2019
2019.7.21

The Lady Minimalists are going to Tulsa!  I've had the great pleasure of being a part of the Lady Minimalists Tea Society for several years, after having met one of the original members, Diane McGregor, at a 516Arts exhibition.

The Lady Minimalsts will exhibit at ahha Tulsa/Hardesty Art Center, from August 2nd through September 22, 2019.  Here's a link to our page on ahha's website: together/apart.

 
The exhibition, Together/Apart, demonstrates the vision of a group of women artists who have been meeting as an artist collective since 2011 and whose unique artistic practices are held together by common aesthetic concerns and minimalist influences.  The work ranges from Shaun Gilmore’s calligraphic, organic papier-mache sculptures and Signe Stuart’s mulberry paper drawing/sculpture hybrids to Danielle Shelley’s intimate, cross-stitched abstractions. Jill Christian’s paintings born of repeated gestures, Dara Mark’s painted fields of fluid watercolors, and Janice Wall’s layered, mixed-media monotypes are also on display.
 
The exhibition includes an interactive installation of nearly a hundred ceramic and papier-mache teacups containing rolled paper “fortunes” inscribed with artist quotes and other sayings.  Gallery visitors are invited to move the teacups into new sculptural arrangements and unroll and read the “fortunes”.  Visitors will be able to take teacups and fortunes away with them, unmaking the installation during the course of the exhibition.
 
The six artists will attend the opening reception on Friday, August 2, from 6 to 9 pm.  On Saturday, August 3, they will present a gallery talk and participate in hand-on activities with ahha visitors that demonstrate aspects of their working processes.
 
LMTS has exhibited collectively in numerous group shows, including three members exhibited in Alcoves 16/17 #5 at the NM Museum of Art (2016), “Building the Image” at SMINK Art + Design in Dallas (2015), Axle Contemporary’s retrospective at Peters Projects (2015), Art(s)UP Salon, Galisteo, NM  (2014), a two-member show at Mesa Public Library in Los Alamos (2014), and a project space at ArtSanta Fe in 2012.  In 2013 the collective presented “Magnetic Drift”, an interactive show of several hundred small artworks by the members in Axle Contemporary’s mobile gallery, which engaged visitors in rearranging the magnetized artwork on the gallery walls into their own compositions.
 

Under the Influences Group Show at Galisteo Arts Center
2019.7.18

Join us for part 2 of Under the Influences, a group show of 25 New Mexico artists. The show acknowledges how the work of others has influenced artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians.  The show runs July 20th through September 16th.

Saturday, July 20, 2019
4pm-7pm
Galisteo Arts Center
5637 St. Rt. 41
Galisteo, NM  87540
 


Jill Christian
Field
Acrylic on paper
30 x 22 in.

"Alma Thomas and Marcia Hafif were revelations to me. I was in my second year of graduate school.  Painting small gestural paintings. Knowing I was searching for a way to express my interest in touch and gesture, but not quite sure what I was looking for or what I was trying to say.  I discovered Thomas first, and then my research led to Marcia Hafif.  Their work gave me the permission I needed at the time to simplify and let one brush stroke follow after the other. And to let the process and labor of painting speak for itself.  This was an important turning point in my work, and both remain strong influences.  Harmony Hammond was one of my MFA mentors during that time and encouraged me to dig in and put an idea through its paces – she guided me as I was learning how to work in the studio, encouraging me to develop a work ethic that continues to help me through inevitable ebbs and flows in my work." - Jill Christian, for Under the Influences



 

Opening Reception: "No Modifiers" Exhibition at Tamarind Institute
2019.5.2

Lithographs from the two editions created during my March guest-artist residency at Tamarind Institute will be on display at Tamarind Institute's exhibition, No Modifiers. I had the pleasure of working with Arel Lisette Peckler and Mike Feijen from the Tamarind Printer Training Program.  The lithographs will be available through Tamarind May 2-May 8, 2019. In early June the lithographs will be available through my studio.

No Modifiers
Tamarind Institute
May 2 – May 8, 2019
Reception: Friday, May 3, 5 PM – 7 PM
2500 Central Avenue SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106

No Modifiers, opening this week, is an exhibition showcasing lithographs by University of New Mexico graduate students and professional guest artists, created in collaboration with the Tamarind Institute Printer Training Program Class of 2019. The exhibition title No Modifiers is a nod to the ability of printers to control ink on paper and, in this exhibition, refers to the collaborative testing of skills between an artist and printer as they work towards creating a final image.

The exhibition will be on view in the Tamarind gallery May 2 through May 8, with works available for purchase.

Tamarind invites the public to a panel discussion with the collaborative student printers on Thursday, May 2 from 3:30-5:00 p.m., and an opening reception on Friday, May 3 from 5-7 pm. Tamarind’s gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and by appointment.

No Modifiers features lithographs by UNM Master of Fine Arts candidates Amir Bakhshi, Amie LeGette, Khutso Painter, Rachel Taylor, Martin Wannam, and Aaron Yazzie, presented alongside Tamarind guest artists Jill Christian, Paul Leibow, Willy Bo Richardson, and Sarah Smelser, and printed in collaboration with the students of Tamarind’s one-year intensive Printer Training Program: Roma Auskalnyte, Elena Carrasco, Mike Feijen, Jon Greene, Perry Obee, Arel Lisette Peckler, Jenni Viita, and Jesse Wood.

Tamarind Institute's 2019 Lithography Residency
2018.12.17

I'm so pleased to share that I've been selected for a March 2019 student printer collaboration at Tamardind Institue.

I'll work with two student printers to create two editions of 10-15 lithographs, which will be available around May 2019.

I look forward to sharing more about the residency in March!

City of Albuquerque Public Art Collection Purchase Award
2018.10.18

I'm pleased to share my painting, Chrysanthemum, has been selected for a City of Albuquerque Public Art Collection Purchase Award.

(image: Chrysanthemum, acrylic on panel, 48 x 48 in.)

365 Artists 365 Days Project: The Show. Opens June 9, 2018 at Frank Juarez Gallery
2018.5.6

So excited to share that I’ll be in this upcoming show at Frank Juarez Gallery in Milwaukee. June 9 - July 14, 2018. Reception June 9, 5-8pm

The 365 Artists 365 Days Project: The Show
Co-curated by Frank Juarez Gallery and Zina Mussmann/Rachel Quirk of Greymatter Gallery


https://www.fjgmke.com/
https://365artists365days.com/

Frank Juarez Gallery and Greymatter Gallery continue their collaboration with a 365 Artists 365 Days Juried Group Exhibition. What began as a one-year project transitioned into a two-year project, which ended in 2015. Three years later, the duo will co-curate an ambitious exhibition featuring local, national, and international artists from this project and bringing it to Milwaukee. This exhibition will feature works by Christian Arrecis (Illinois), Jill Christian (New Mexico), Nina Ghanbarzadeh (Wisconsin), Sam Haring (Ohio), Jeanne Heifetz (New York), Colleen Keihm (Illinois), Laurie LeBreton (Illinois), Jennifer Scheuer (Indiana), Emily Swinsick (California), Casey Whittier (Kansas), Connie Wolfe (Illinois), and Ana Perez Ventura (France).

Approximate Affinities: New Paintings by Jill Christian
2018.4.19

Approximate Affinities
May 11 through June 2, 2018

Opening Reception:  Friday May 11 from 5-8 pm

Exhibit/208
208 Broadway SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
exhibit208.com
 
GALLERY HOURS
Thursday, Friday & Saturday
10am -4pm or by appointment

Exhibit/208 is pleased to announce Approximate Affinities, an exhibition of new paintings by Jill Christian. This exhibition features work on paper that the artist began during a stay at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, CO.
 
Christian is known for her paintings of gridded fields made of repetitively applied brushstrokes of shifting colors.  In Approximate Affinities, Christian has opened up the grid and loosened her compositions.  The works on paper are quickly made, with brushstrokes forming ambiguous shapes that interact in fields of chromatic grays and the occasional color.  The paintings rely on numerous sketches that serve as practice moves for the final work.
 
As in her earlier work, Christian continues to be concerned with process, repetition, color, and the creation of rhythmic patterns. Here, irregular, painterly ovals and lozenges suggest stones or organic shapes and move in and out of proximity and grid-like order. The work presents variations on a repeated motif that explore how shifts in order, size, placement, and color evoke senses of speed, tension, rest, and relationship between the figures and the fields on which they float.

Image: Jill Christian, Untitled, acrylic on paper, 49 3/4 x 38 inches.
 
For more information, please contact Kim Arthun, artoon@comcast.net, 505-450-6884

HOME: A s(and) Exhibition | October 2017 at The Harwood Art Center
2017.9.17

      Opening Reception: Friday, October 6, 6 - 8pm
      Exhibitions Run: October 6 - 26, 2017
 
Home: (s)and Collective
Home is both a place and a space in our minds. Home can refer to the intimacy of our domestic spaces, the specificity of a geographic location, the nostalgia that is recalled by our five senses, and a place of refuge and safety that exists among family, friends, and community. In this exhibition, a group of 12 Albuquerque artists from the s(and) Collective share creative expressions of their notions of home, within the context of their work together as artists.

at The Harwood Art Center
1114 Seventh St. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Monday–Thursday: 9 am–5 pm
Friday: 9 am–4 pm
Saturday–Sunday: Closed

Albuquerque The Magazine | September 2017 Issue
2017.8.31

TONDO: an Exhibition by s(and) Artist Collective at Exhibit/208
2017.3.7

TONDO: An Exhibition by the s(and) Artist Collective

Exhibit 208
March 4 – April 1, 2017
Reception: Friday, March 10, 5-8 pm

Gallery Hours: Thurs-Sat, 10-4 and by appointment 505.450.6884

For centuries, artists have explored the circular format of the tondo – from the painted mythology of ancient Greek kylix and the circular Italian religious paintings of the 15th century, to artworks by Carmen Herrera, Sol LeWitt, Michelle Grabner, and others.

TONDO presents a contemporary exploration of this ancient format by thirteen women artists in the s(and) Artist Collective. This exhibition includes paintings, wall works, sculptures, and photography that re-interpret and expand on the format and history of circular and spherical artworks.

The artists will be present at the opening reception Friday, March 10th from 5:00pm – 8:00 pm. Exhibit 208 gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, and by appointment. For additional information, please contact Exhibit 208 Director, Kim Arthun, at 505.450.6884 or visit http://exhibit208.com.

Artists in this exhibition include Lea Anderson, Angela Berkson, Jill Christian, Sally Condon, Kelly Eckel, Dana Lynn Kleinman, Stephanie Lerma, Jessamyn Lovell, Heidi Pollard, Rachel Popowcer, Valerie Roybal, Shawn Turung, and Cedra Wood.

"The Thing of it Is" Exhibition - Washington Art Association
2016.7.22

I'm very pleased to share that one of my paintings, Epic Sunrise, is included in The Thing of it Is, a group exhibition curated by the painter, Eric Aho.

Washington Art Association
4 Bryan Memorial Plaza
Washington Depot, CT  06794

Exhibition Dates: July 23, 2016 - August 20, 2016
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 23rd from 4 - 6pm

Gallery Hours: M - Sa.: 10am - 5pm; Sunday: Noon - 4pm

For more information, please contact us either by email at washingtonart@snet.net or by telephone at 860.868.2878.

Here's a link to an article about Mr. Aho and the exhibition:
http://happeninginthehills.com/artpost/celebrated-artist-eric-aho-juries-waa-exhibition/

Artspace111 Regional Juried Exhibition
2016.6.22

Third Annual Regional Juried Exhibition
Artspace111
111 Hampton Street, Fort Worth, TX
June 24 - August 6, 2016
Opening reception: Friday, June 24, 5:00-8:00 pm

s(and): an introduction at Exhibit|208 in Albuquerque
2015.5.18


Exhibit | 208
208 Broadway SE
Albuquerque NM 87102

exhibition dates: 5/2-5/30/15
opening reception with artists: 5/8 5-8pm

Artists exhibiting:
Lea Anderson, Shawn Turung, Stephanie Lerma
Angela Berkson, Kelly EckelCedra Wood, Dana & Ruth Kleinman, Valerie Roybal, Jessamyn Lovell, Sally Condon, Heidi Pollard, Jill Christian, and Rachel Popowcer

curated by Jessica Veit

“Sand” is a curious material. Grains from mysterious and varied origins collect together in unity, be it a beach, a desert, a garden or or a playground. Sand can be part of an oasis of safety and also a stormy, destructive force. Sand can be a soft, soothing surface and also a scratchy irritant. Sand can express a range of qualities and invoke varied responses.

We are a group of artists, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This exhibition will serve to introduce our work as unique particles of a whole, a sum and its parts, to illustrate the diversity and quality of artistic voices in this region. Coming together as a community, we promote community, despite differences, to create a unified force of impact.

Our work rejects the desire for categorization by gender or place; each artist in the collective is unique in style, process, and vision. Photography, sculpture, painting, and works on paper; abstract and figurative, personal to universal: try to define us and grains will be sure to escape through the filter.

Press
Go With the Grain: Opening Reception for s(and): an introduction

Art on the Edge at New Mexico Museum Opening April 17
2015.4.8

I'm very pleased to share that three of my paintings have been chosen for the Art on the Edge exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.  Seven artists from New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Texas were selected by juror Nora Burnett Abrams, Associate Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.  The other artists selected are Will Clift (www.willclift.com), Danae Falliers (danae-falliers.squarespace.com), Ian Fisher (www.ianfisherart.com), Sarah McKenzie (www.sarahmckenzie.com), Chris Oatey (www.chrisoatey.com), and Kate Rivers (www.kateriversart.com).


 


Art on the Edge 2015
New Mexico Museum of Art
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
April 17 – August 16, 2015

Public reception: April 17, 2015, 5:30-7:30




http://www.nmartmuseum.org/…/upcoming/untitled-resource.html




An exhibition catalog is available for viewing and purchase at http://www.blurb.com/b/6106754-art-on-the-edge.


Building the Image: The Lady Minimalists at Smink Dallas
2015.4.4

April 4 - May 2, 2015
Dara Mark, Danielle Shelley, Shaun Gilmore, Jill Christian, Signe Stuart, Janice Wall
Smink Inc.
1019 Dragon Street
Dallas, TX 75207

In the hills above Santa Fe, early in 2011, the Lady Minimalists formed their collective.  Today, this is a group of six visual artists of varying ages and differing backgrounds.  


The scene began with investigations into current threads of contemporary art, and led to lively discussions, collaborative projects, and group exhibits.   The group has shown at Axle Contemporary in Santa Fe (2013), at the ART[s] UP Salon in Galisteo, NM (2014), at the Mesa Public Library Upstairs Art Gallery in Los Alamos, NM (2013), and in a project space at Art Santa Fe (2012).  Currently they are part of the exhibit, AXLE INDOORS, at Peters Projects, the new contemporary incarnation of the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe.


The Lady Minimalists Tea Society (proper name) is noted for intentionally pared–down processes, use of simplified materials, and purposeful use of structure, which is often developed through repetition.  Each artist reflects the rich combination of northern New Mexico history, culture and social need, within the perimeters of modern art.  It is a paradox of sorts; the contradiction of deeply rustic, historic surroundings and the language of artistic abstraction.  But like Agnes Martin and Florence Pierce before them, their work is derived from the open vistas, the clear light, and the silence of this region.


Interview on 365 Artists|365 Days
2014.11.8

Thank you to the people at 365artists365days for including me in their project!

365 Artists | 365 Days is a project that was started January 1, 2014 by Frank Juarez Gallery and Greymatter Gallery. Their website spotlights contemporary artists daily from across the globe.


Hope you enjoy my interview and take some time to check out the other artists on the site!


New American Paintings West
2014.10.28

I am pleased to share that I have been included in New American Paintings West (Issue 114).  Juror, Nora Burnett Abrams, Associate Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, chose works from approximately 1,000 applicants to be featured in the No. 114, West Edition.



Impressions: Paintings by Jill Christian, Sept. 19-Nov. 7, 2014
2014.8.21

An exhibition of my paintings opens September 19th at The Jonathan Abrams MD Art Gallery, University of New Mexico Hospital.


Impressions: Paintings by Jill Christian
September 19 - November 7, 2014


Opening Reception:
 Friday, September 19, 4-6 pm

The Jonathan Abrams MD Art Gallery
University of New Mexico Hospital
Fifth Floor, Ambulatory Care Center

The gallery is open weekdays from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm. Parking is available at the UNM Hospital West Parking Structure (Lomas & Yale).


MAS ATTACK comes to Albuquerque!
2014.7.25

July 19 MAS Attack brought a group of Los Angeles artists together with Albuquerque artists for MAS*Albuquerque. Held at Creative Albuquerque's downtown location, this was MAS Attack's third road trip and was organized by Albuquerque's own Nancy Zastudil and ARTRA Curatorial.

Here are some links to learn more about MAS (Mutual Appreciation Society) Attack:

Alibi: "Imagine a festive “one-night-only” art event more like a rock concert than a gallery opening."

http://alibi.com/art/47281/MAS-Attack-Ready-to-Blitz-the-Albuquerque-Art-Scen.html

Local IQ: "For one night only, Albuquerque is being invaded — by artists. MAS ATTACK, a city-to-city exhibit put on by ARTRA Curatorial, hails from Los Angeles. It is a project designed to put together 30 L.A. artists with 30 Albuquerque artists to create a collage exhibit meant to spark conversation, creativity and collaboration."
http://www.local-iq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3908&Itemid=55

"ARTRA Curatorial
 is a volunteer organization for the implementation of new modes of exhibition, locally, nationally and internationally, that feature artist-led emerging platforms and opportunity based interactions and community building via social practice type events.


Founded by Max Presneill and Colton Stenke in 2009 and now joined by Kio Griffith, the group has instigated large scale art events and exchanges, as well as the alternative art fair Co/Lab, throughout Los Angeles and has new projects being presented in China, France and UK in 2014, as well as the continuation of their MAS ATTACK series of events both in LA and other US cities."

Studio Visit Magazine Volume 25
2014.7.25

I am very pleased to announce that my work has been included in Vol. 25 (2014) of Studio Visit Magazine, a juried series of artist books. My paintings are featured on page 25.

Also in this issue is Susan Emmerson (http://www.susanemmerson.com/)(page 70) a fellow graduate from the MFA program at Lesley University College of Art and Design, and Page Coleman (http://www.pagecolemangallery.com/)(page 47), an artist and gallery owner in Albuquerque.  Page was also one of my mentors during the LUCAD MFA program, and was instrumental in my exploration of color during the program.

Valentine's Day 2014 Art+Singles Auction
2014.2.5

"Pink Painting", 2009. Acrylic on paper (framed), 23"x22"


I’ve paired one of my paintings with one of these fantastic singles!  Don’t sit at home on Valentine’s Day -- Come on out to ArtBar for an evening of fun and a singles + art auction supporting New Mexico AIDS Services and Progress Now New Mexico.  See the ArtBar posting for details on the event and how to purchase tickets.


ArtBar is getting rid of the nasty little COUPLES tradition that Valentine's Day is - Feb 14th 2014 @ 8pm come be part of an Art/Singles Auction - buy art, it comes with a date, or vice versa! Food and "some" drink included with purchase of ticket - more available night of the event of course!

Local celebs, artists, and hardworking guys and gals up for auction - nice art to go along with em!!!! It's gonna be a good ol' non-traditional night. Some of our singles include: Hakim Bellamy, Shastyn Friedman, Sera Miles, Hillary Frost aka DJ ILL Audia, Kelly Fernandez of Paris A Go Go, and so many more!

Local artisans include: Tattoo Artists from Archetype Dermagraphic, Christian Gallegos, Cloudface, and again, so many more!

A portion of the proceeds from this amazing and fun night will go to benefit NM Aids Services; this event is made possible through a partnership with Progress Now New Mexico, ArtBar by Catalyst Club, and NM Aids Services.


For more information, visit ArtBar by Catalyst Club's FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtBarByCatalystClub


Purchase tickets at Hold My Ticket: http://holdmyticket.com/#/e/163619


ArtSpark's 4th Birthday Bash - January 26th, 2014
2014.1.26

Please join us for ArtSpark's 4th Birthday Bash at the ArtBar by Catalyst Club on January 26th from 4:30-6:30p. We've got a bevvy of great artists and performers that eve, including aerialist Kaeti Frady, musician/composer Monica Demarco, visual artists (and ArtSparkers!) Burgy (aka Gladys Potts) and Jill Christian, photographer Guadalupe Chavez, dance on video artists Evangel King and Kristine Maltrud, and luscious grown-up cookies to go with those great cocktails.


PLEASE JOIN US - it's going to be a GREAT event!


You can purchase tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/534668


Sunday, Jan. 26
4:30-6:30 pm
ArtBar by Catalyst Club
119 Gold SW, Albuquerque NM
http://www.catalystclubnm.org


Momentary: Jill Christian & Ana Medina
2013.9.19


October 4-29 2013
Reception: Friday 10/4, 6-8PM.  Public Lecture: Tuesday 10/29, 2PM

The William Platz Gallery at Southwest University of Visual Arts www.suva.edu
5000 Marble Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 505-274-7575 Gallery Hours: M-F 8AM-5PM, Sat. 9AM-1PM


ArtGraze Art + Design Salon Show for Artists and Interior Designers
2013.9.10

ArtGraze Art + Design Salon Show
ArtGraze Artists + Interior Designers


Exhibition:

Friday, Sept 13, 2013 through Sunday, Sept 15, 2013
Pippin Contemporary Gallery
200 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe, NM

Opening Reception: Friday, Sept 13, 20135:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Free to public.
 

Speakers Event:


Zane Bennett Gallery
435 S Guadalupe, Santa Fe, NM


Saturday, Sept. 14, 2103
1:30 pm - 4:45 pm


This event is open to the public.There will be a $20 charge at the door for non members. Space is limited, so please arrive by 1:00 pm to get a seat. The program begins at 1:30 pm sharp. Light food and beverages will be provided.


Scheduled speakers:

Sandy Zane, owner of Zane Bennett  Gallery, will be speaking on her experience with the design process, working in collaboration with John Padilla AIA on the creation of her gallery.


Robert Gamblin, artist, advisor to the Smithsonian Institute, and creator of Gamblin Art Materials will speak on his relationship with color.

Bernadette Vadurro,CSP “Three Top Tips for Presenting, How to Sell Your Presentation” Bernadette is a Certified Speaking Professional, and the President of Speakers Live, Inc. She has presented to the AIA locally and regionally.

Suzanna Gratz, Director of ArtMuse.tv will demonstrate her high digital system that serves the fine art, real estate, and design industries.

Jennifer Ashton, Designer, will speak about the upcoming Fashion and Design Showhouse Santa Fe 2013.

Jacqueline Butler, ASID, will begin the program with an
introduction to ArtGraze and the artists, galleries, and designers featured on ArtGraze.com and social media sites.

There will be light refreshments, giveaways, and a
drawing held with some exciting door prizes for those present at the end of the event.


About ArtGraze

Connecting Artists & Designers Together To Grace The Buildings & Homes Of The World.

ArtGraze facilitates alliances between artists,
galleries, and interior design professionals in order to better serve their clients with emphasis placed on “the art of living with art”. We invite practicing architects and interior designers to share examples of their work in
which art takes a prominent position in the evolution of the design project from start to finish.

Contact information for the designers, artists, and affiliated galleries featured on ArtGraze is shown along with links to their websites.


"Black & White" at Woodstock School of Art (May 18-July 6, 2013)
2013.5.15

This Saturday,  May 18, is the opening reception for Black & White, a group exhibition juried by Peik Larsen, at the Woodstock School of Art in Woodstock, NY.


46 works will be featured that honor "the absence of color". But you'll find these pieces to be anything but colorless.


I'm honored to have one of my paintings included in this exhibition.


Exhibition Dates: May 18 - July 6, 2013
Reception:
Saturday, May 18, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday 9:00 - 3:00; After June 1, Monday-Saturday, 9:00 - 3:00




The Woodstock School of Art
2470 Route 212
Woodstock, NY 12498
www.woodstockschoolofart.org

845. 679. 2388


Objectified: AIB MFA Alumni Exhibition in Cambridge, MA
2012.12.25

One of my paintings will be in the upcoming AIB MFA Alumni exhibition, Objectified, in Cambridge, MA.
The exhibit runs from January 4, 2013 to January 12, 2013. Gallery hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Opening reception
January 4, 2013
6:00-9:00 pm
Lesley University/Art Institute of Boston
Washburn Hall Auditorium
10 Phillips Place
Cambridge, MA
The show catalog can be viewed on Blurb.com.
The theme for this year’s Biennial—“Objectified"—challenges the AIB artists to explore the dynamic
range of power inherent in objectifying a subject or conversely, by focusing intently and decisively on a single object. More than 300 people visited the first MFA Alumni exhibition opening, and the University is expecting this event to be just as spectacularly attended.
The AIB MFA Alumni have orchestrated this group exhibition in cooperation with Lesley University as a
celebration of the diversity and strength of the creative bonds forged in AIB’s intensive low-residency MFA program. This exhibition is also dedicated toward fostering deeper ties between AIB and the main Lesley
University campus as AIB prepares to transition to its new location in Porter Square, Cambridge, MA.

To follow the progress of the show, please visit the exhibition’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AibMfaAlumniExhibition

Studio Visit with Contemporary Art Society of New Mexico
2012.11.29

Sunday, Dec. 2, CAS New Mexico will be visiting my studio at Harwood Art Center.


After the Harwood, CAS members will visit the studio of Lester Berman.


About CAS NM


The Contemporary Art Society of New Mexico was founded in 1988 as a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting New Mexico's contemporary visual arts community. Their goals are to increase interest, understanding and involvement in contemporary art by encouraging individual collecting, by sponsoring educational activities and by supporting New Mexico's artists and art institutions


For more information on CAS NM and membership opportunities, visit www.casofnm.org.


Harwood's 6th Annual 12x12 Fundraiser & Auction
2012.11.28

This year I am participating in Harwood's 6th annual 12x12 benefit and auction.


Join us Friday, December 7th from 6-8 pm for an evening of art, entertainment, food, and fundraising.


When: Friday, Dec. 7th, 6-8 pm


Where: The Harwood Art Center
             1114 7th Street, Albuquerque, NM


Over 100 artists have transformed blank 12x12 and 24x24 wood panels into stunning original artwork to raise money for The Harwood. 


Each 12x12 is available for $144, and the twelve 20x20 pieces are available via an online auction at www.biddingforfood.com/Harwood.


All money raised during the event is used to fund Harwood's community outreach programs. There is a suggested (but not required) donation of $5 to $20 at the door.


See you Friday!


Una Vida Art Project at Factory on 5th
2012.11.2

Friday, November 2nd is the opening reception for the Una Vida Art Project at a place that is very special to me: Factory on 5th. Before moving my studio to The Harwood, I had a studio at Factory on 5th. At my studio there, in the bitter cold of January of 2011, I began the current body of work that made up both my MFA thesis exhibit, and is part the work you’ll see at the show this Friday.


So, please join me Friday night, November 2nd from 5:30 to 9:00 pm for the opening reception of Una Vida Art Project at 5G Gallery at the Factory on 5th Art Space.

This group exhibition features a diverse group of seventeen Albuquerque artists (including yours truly) working in oil, pastel, acrylic, watercolor, metal sculpture, assemblage, and mixed media.

Una Vida Art Project
Dates: November 2 – November 24, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, 5:30-9:00 pm

For gallery access from November 3-24, call David at
505.977.9643. (He is there most days, but it's best to call before you arrive).

Factory on 5th
1715 5th Street NW in downtown Albuquerque.
http://www.factoryon5.com/


If you have never been to Factory on 5th, The Kosmos Coffee House hosts “Chatter” Performances on Sundays at 10:30 am.  Incredibly intimate, exhilarating music, and totally worth the trip!  The gallery will be open during performances.


 


Visit Sunday Chatter: http://www.chatterchamber.org/sunday/


Rise | Set at Harwood Art Center, July 6-26, 2012
2012.6.27

Rise | Set : Paintings by Jill Christian
Inspired by nuanced light and color in the moments surrounding dawn and dusk, the paintings in this exhibition present fields of brushstrokes that completely fill the canvas with subtly shifting colors. Working within the structure of repetition and reduction, these process-driven, meditative paintings create rhythmic patterns that invite quiet contemplation of their surfaces.
 
Opening Reception: Friday, July 6, 6:00 - 8:00 pm (in conjunction with ArtsCrawl's First Fridays)
Exhibit Dates:  July 6, 2012 - July 26, 2012

The Harwood Art Center
1114 7th Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (505) 242-6367
www.harwoodartcenter.org
Exhibit may be viewed during Harwood Art Center gallery hours Mon. – Fri., 10 AM to 4PM and by appointment by calling (505) 379-9836.
For more information, go to www.jillchristian.com

Intervals: Paintings by Jill Christian, June 1-July 8, 2012
2012.6.27

Intervals: Paintings by Jill Christian
Through July 8, 2012, an exhibition of my paintings will be on display at The Outpost Performance Space.
June 1-July 8, 2012
Reception June 1, 5-8 pm

Inpost Artspace | Outpost Performance Space
201 Yale SE (2 blocks south of Central)
Albuquerque, NM
 

516 ARTS Studio Visit & Interview
2012.3.29

In March, Claude Smith from 516 ARTS visited my studio and posted our interview on the 516 ARTS blog.
You can read the interview here:
http://516arts.blogspot.com/2012/03/studio-visit-interview-jill-christian.html

516 ARTS New Mexico Showcase, Feb. 4-April 28, 2012
2012.2.4

One of my paintings is included in the 516 ARTS New Mexico Showcase, a juried exhibition of New Mexico artists.
The show is juried by Peter Frank, an acclaimed curator and art critic based in Los Angeles. Mr Frank is currently Associate Editor of Fabrik magazine and art critic for The Huffington Post.
The exhibition features 80 emerging and established artists (of the 1,018 pieces submitted by 279 artists, Mr. Frank selected 73 artists and made seven special invitations to artists he wanted to honor).