When: Thu., Jan. 10, 6:30-9 p.m. and Wednesdays-Saturdays, 12-6 p.m. Continues through Feb. 10 2019
Born and raised in San Antonio, visual artist Cristina Muñiz “walked away from a partially complete painting major” 20-plus years ago, got a “stable full-time job” at a retail chain and finally returned to school to study art — this time focusing on graphic illustration and earning an associate’s degree from San Antonio College. Showing her work locally since 2011 — including group exhibits at High Wire Arts and Melinda Martinez Studio — Muñiz eventually transferred to Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), where she furthered her studies in painting and earned her BFA in 2014. Shortly after graduating from KCAI, Muñiz was accepted into the Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Residency Program, which provides resident artists with dedicated work space and champions Kansas City as “a dynamic home for artists in various career stages and disciplines.” Brought to life with everything from pens and markers to graphite and watercolors, Muñiz’s “autobiographical” abstractions combine personal memories and family narratives with impulse and instinct. “When something comes to me, I grab whatever is near and lay something down quickly,” Muñiz told the Current in 2017. Described by the artist as her “first professional showing” in her hometown, Muñiz’s latest exploration of introspective mark-making takes shape in a collection of “tangible artifacts” she files under the intriguing title “Inherited Memories: Dreams from Before I Was Born.”