Textile artist Katherine Hunt is currently based in New Mexico and her monochromatic abstract work is inspired by Minimalism and Geometry. “I contrast themes of repetition and order against the uncontrollable variations of natural materials,” she explains. Her pieces “invite viewers to engage with their own subjectivity, sit with imperfection and make personal associations.”  

Firstly where are you from and where are you based now?

I was born and raised in Wisconsin then spent 11 years in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles.  In between the years, I’ve worked on a lot of sustainable rural and urban farms across the United States including New York City, San Francisco, New Orleans, Portland and outside of Asheville, North Carolina.  I also lived abroad in Paris and in Southern France, while studying Curatorial Studies at La Cinémathèque Française for my MFA, so I’ve experienced living in many places over the years!  I’m currently based in Northern New Mexico.

What is your background in textiles?

My BFA was in Indigenous American Studies, double minoring in Women’s Studies and Cultural Psychology, with my MFA from California Institute of Arts in Experimental Film/Video.  My art background includes 16mm film, video, performance and installation and, while in Los Angeles, I worked in the Art Department on multiple music videos, feature films and television shows so my practice has been a mixture of arts education and experience creating mixed media objects.  My films were hand-dyed and processed and without the use of a film lab to develop once school finished, the transition to focusing on fiber and mixed media Process Art full time took hold.  Having my hands in the soil gardening and farming for over 15 years, feeling the texture, using my body and all my senses has greatly informed my practice.  I tend to be quite tactile and aware of subtlety in textures and colours and this greatly informs my fiber arts practice.

How do you describe your work?

Working with fibers and textiles such as string, twine and rope coated and embedded in adhesives of beeswax, resin, glue and acrylic, I create process-oriented art that moulds materials into intricately controlled forms. Drawing with fiber, my work exists in both two and three dimensional spaces. Inspired by Minimalism and Geometry, I contrast themes of repetition and order against the uncontrollable variations of natural materials. Rooted in abstraction, I construct textured monochromatic pieces that invite viewers to engage with their own subjectivity, sit with imperfection and make personal associations.  

Where do you work? 

My studio is at home, which is convenient. I create my own schedule and keep things flexible. The Covid-19 quarantine here in New Mexico has forced me to create a stronger sense of discipline and structure. Normally, there is a natural balance between my teaching work and time spent in my studio.  With my teaching online now, I’ve had to be diligent managing my studio time and creating a new daily schedule for myself.  I’m a morning person so I like to get into the studio right after having coffee!  I’ve gotten back into a short Qi Gong practice each morning since being in quarantine and that really helps to empty my mind and wake up the body. Because my practice is so physical and repetitive, I have started to set a one hour timer to regiment breaks. I was recently diagnosed with Lupus and that can limit my energy.  Not overdoing it is really important, so taking regular breaks, drinking water and stretching are key practices for daily pacing to work.

Can you talk us through how you create a piece? 

I feel like my work is an extension of so many other things.  I usually have an idea for a piece after I’ve spent a couple days reading about art or poetry. I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about other artists and art theory.  Every year that goes by I end up digesting more and more about an artist or process that makes me reconsider my own work and approach. There is a large conceptual element to my work and those ideas or concepts sometimes are equally if not more important than the finished work itself.  Some kind of texture, image or shape will come to me and then I need to express it in the form of a process-oriented piece. A lot of my work ends up being quite meticulous because it allows me time to think abstractly and work through some emotional state I might be currently juggling in life. Or sometimes if I am reading about a theory in art, I want to try and implement that theory in my own way.  I feel more confident and more disciplined than ever before creating new pieces.

You use a very muted colour palette. Why is this? 

In my own specific case, overstimulation of the everyday world has led me to a desire to obliterate distraction and condense my senses down to the minimal!  It’s very calming to keep the palette simple.  A mind/body physical therapist friend of mine recently described my work best I think when she stated that “your process is felt and puts yourself and the viewer in an immediate state of meditation…It’s like neural mirroring…where your nervous systems goes through the same experience as if you’re doing it….it’s what happens when sports fans get all worked up! ..but your work is a calming dose of serotonin!”  The desert landscape is also a major inspiration.  The muted colour palette (pinks, whites, browns, greys, blacks) of the desert surrounding me here in New Mexico have definitely affected the look and feel of my work. Living and working amidst 100 + year-old adobe houses and studios made of mud/straw walls and pine ceilings and floors is grounding and calming and that quietness seeps into my work.  

Textile art is often linked to the technique such as weaving, quilting etc. Do you use any traditional techniques in your work eg. sewing?

I was exposed to incredible Ojibwe and Lakota textile arts at university and then, after moving to New Mexico, where weaving is a highly respected art form, I was fortunate enough to take an introductory course in loom weaving at a local fiber arts center.  I began teaching Youth Fiber Arts through a non-profit organisation and realised how much I enjoy working with fabrics, yarn, string, ropes, etc and creating mixed media fiber arts using non-traditional methods. Working with kids reminds me to play with materials and not be too concerned with the results. 

I know it’s a tricky question but how long does a piece take? 

That is a tricky question!  Depending on size, the latest one thread pieces adhered onto a canvas have taken me anywhere from six weeks to two months!  It’s a very methodical technique and the process holds as much meaning as the finished artwork.

What are your career highlights to date? 

Being selected as an exhibiting artist with WhiteNoise Projects out of London and hopefully having an exhibition there once travel resumes. Also, being awarded both the Andy Warhol Foundation and Contemporary Art Foundation grants this past May.  It’s been a tough year for all, but I’m very grateful for the support I’ve received to continue in my artistic journey.

Do you have any advice for aspiring textile artists? 

Experiment and take inspiration from unlikely sources!  My inspiration comes from artists, poets, musicians and filmmakers such as Eva Hesse, Sol Lewitt, Agnes Martin, Yoko Ono, Ad Reinhardt, Gego, Richard Serra, Donald Judd, Louise Bourgeois’ “Insomnia Drawings”, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Michelle Stuart, Joseph Beuys, Cormac McCarthy, John Baldessari, Claire Denis, James Benning, William Carlos Williams.  Take sensual inspiration from the everyday around you; the smell of hot pine in the sun and piñon burning in a wood stove, subtle tonality of the changing seasonal colors, intricacy in spiderwebs, the faded grey tones of sun dried animal bones found in the woods and desert and use the collective experiences of your past adventures and mishaps to shape your art.

Katherine Hunt’s work will be in a solo exhibition at The Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, NM in April 2021 

https://katherinehunt.xyz 

https://www.instagram.com/katherineahunt/