Local artist Jenn Rawling is opening a fully immersive show Friday (Feb. 24) at Studio & when she unveils “Tracks: Image & Sound.”
The show pairs abstract paintings with songs off Rawling’s new album, “Hand Me a Shovel,” which results in a “visual-audio tour,” she said, adding that the album was about two years in the making and features collaborations with local musicians. Along with the album being available on online streaming services, Rawling will also have CDs and downloads for sale at the opening, which will be a two-parter, she said: First, the official artist reception will be held tonight, and then she will hold a listening party at 7 p.m. on the exhibit’s closing (March 4).
“Let’s just get together and listen to this thing. Because it’s pretty highly produced. It’s very cinematic,” she said. “I just think, let’s just take a minute and see what happened here. It’s like a gorgeous collection of sounds. And I just really want to kind of celebrate that moment with other people.”
Rawling has lived in Durango for about five years. A full-time artist and songwriter, she decided to pair her painting with songs from “Hand Me a Shovel” on the advice of a friend: “I think our good friends like to just point out the low-hanging fruit when we’re not seeing it.” She said she hasn’t had a solo show for about three years and when “Tracks” was on her calendar, she knew she wanted to switch gears with her art and explore abstract painting and combining her art and music worked.
“As soon as I was tapping into the songs and starting to do one painting per song, they just were flowing,” she said. “And it just felt like, what a great thing to combine these two things that I love. And, you know, to just kind of double the intensity of the experience.”
If you go
WHAT: Tracks: Image & Sound: A solo exhibition by Jenn Rawling.
WHEN: Opening reception, 5-9 p.m. Friday (Feb. 24). Exhibit will run through March 4.
WHERE: Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.anddurango.com.
The album is “really dreamy. It’s very moody. It’s very lyrically heavy,” Rawling said. “I collaborated with Thomas Bailey, and he helped to develop the songs and he played on them. He does backing vocals, he helped me produce the record. And so his influence is in the record as well. So I want to give a little shout out to him.”
And for Rawling, when people go into the gallery to see her exhibit, she wants them to enjoy the full experience.
“I think artists bend over backwards to bring their work into the world. And it’s important to me because it’s what I care about. It’s what I want to do. I’m an artist and songwriter, so I just want people to enjoy what I’ve created and take something from it,” she said. “And I really hope that people just take a minute to really experience it and take it in.”
katie@durangoherald.com
