10–15 minute performances at the top of each hour
Experience an afternoon durational performance installation with acclaimed turntablist and sound artist Maria Chávez.
Known for transforming the turntable into an instrument of improvisation and discovery—a practice she calls Abstract Turntablism—for this installation Chávez will perform live with the sound installation she created for the paintings PH-977 and PH-1074 in the Still in Sound exhibition. This unique opportunity blurs the boundaries between recorded composition and chance.
Using vinyl records, turntables, the rare RAKE double-headed needle, and unconventional materials, she will construct richly textured soundscapes live alongside her sound installation for the paintings. Patrons can expect to experience a live 10-minute performance at the top of every hour from 2–5 p.m. Rather than following familiar musical structures, Chávez’s work unfolds through attentive listening, revealing unexpected relationships between recorded sound, silence, and space.
Presented as part of Still in Sound, this live performance installation offers a compelling counterpart to the exhibition’s exploration of abstraction, perception, and the unseen forces that shape our experience.
Whether you are new to experimental music or a longtime listener, this performance offers a rare opportunity to encounter one of today’s leading practitioners of Abstract Turntablism in the unique setting of the Clyfford Still Museum.
The program is included with Museum admission and free for members. Limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is not required.
About Maria Chávez
Born in Lima, Peru, and based in NYC, Maria Chávez is best known as an abstract turntablist, sound artist, and DJ. Coincidence, chance, and failures are themes that unite her work across mediums, including improvised performance, sound and marble sculpture, visual art, and book objects. Her approach is rooted in Deep Listening, a form of embodied listening developed by her late mentor, Pauline Oliveros. Maria is the only abstract turntablist in the world who performs with a rare needle known as the RAKE Double Needle. This special device contains two needles on one head, allowing it to read two different segments of a single record at the same time. Paired with her inimitable ability to create unforgettable sonic experiences from shards of broken records, each performance is truly unique. Maria’s practice is profoundly expansive, responsive, and curious. Her work has been featured and supported by a myriad of institutions over the past decades, including Rewire Festival, Counterflows Festival, Donau Festival, The Guggenheim Museum, The Getty, The Wire, MOCA Jacksonville, Black Mountain College Museum, and many, many more. Chavez’s 2012 book, Of Technique: Chance Procedures on Turntable, has garnered a reputation as both an academic resource on turntablism and a foundational text for a new generation of turntablists.