Christensen Gallery
It may look like an art gallery at first glance, but owner De Ann Christensen created the Christensen Gallery to provide visitors not just a gallery, but an “art experience.”
It started when she redesigned a 1947 Blanco home into an art gallery.
“My goal was to provide a safe space where art could be celebrated in all its forms” she said. “By presenting themed exhibits that change throughout the year, I can provide a changing environment to bring different styles and mediums of art to the public.”
Each exhibit includes not only visual art, but installation art and a short film. With the installation room, visitors can immerse themselves into the art. She installed a theater room to show various indie and short films that change with each new exhibit. Her Gallery also holds live concerts and art workshops.
It’s all part of her oeuvre.
“I try to bring in different art forms and hope to change the perception of the gallery experience from ‘I'm going to go stand in front of a white wall with something hanging on it.’ I want guests to experience art.”
De Ann Christensen loves to gather experiences. She has traveled extensively and after retiring from a career in healthcare in 2018 she took 14 trips in one year. In 2019 she opened a working art Studio in Houston. She moved to Blanco full time in 2022 and she used her combined experiences to design a different kind of gallery.
For guests at the Christensen Gallery, the experience begins when they drive in past a large metal sign that reads “Life Is What You Create.” Outside the entrance they are welcomed by a giant hand holding a flaming cauldron and an outdoor patio lined with designed silhouettes of artists.
“I want the Gallery to be a place where people feel safe and welcome,” Christensen said. “We live in a world with too much judgement and a focus on external success. To really be creative, it requires you to be vulnerable, and you must be willing to risk that people may dislike or criticize you. If you can't stand criticism, you can't be an artist. That's how I look at it.”
Christensen is an artist herself, working as a multidisciplinary artist through painting, mixed media, and assemblage, and many of her pieces are mixed in her exhibits. In her art, Christensen seems fearless.
“I am,” she stated. “I don't easily get embarrassed. I have a good sense of humor and can laugh at myself. But to be honest with you, I'm at the age where I do what I want. I want my space and my actions to be a representation of my true creative self.”
Yet art is still a business. Her foundation is selling original art, submitted by artists from as far away as France.
Christensen organizes her shows around themes and curates each show to fit that theme. A recent exhibit was “Let’s Get Surreal–A Surreal and Steampunk Experience!”
“It’s a bit of a strange show,” she admitted. “A very selective group of people are drawn to surreal art–it's not your common spot of color to hang above the couch.”
That is fine with her.
“I'm not interested is just selling pretty art to hang on the wall. I want a space where people talk about art and what it means to them, where conversations transcend barriers and people can learn to appreciate each other’s perspectives better. Art is a good place to start building better human connection.”
That appreciation is manifested by members of the community getting into the spirit of Christensen’s creative theme, such as Timeless with people arriving dressed as flappers, and Steampunk with guests dressed as time travelers from the Victorian age. Her fans embrace the fun.
“People get excited and want to dress up,” Christensen said. “So, we literally dress up in theme for the receptions. Every show has a different feeling. My goal when people come to a new exhibit is to feel they are in a new space. The Gallery environment is totally changed, the music is changed, the style of art is changed.”
One of the attractions of each exhibit is the ever-changing installation room. The theme of the installation greets the guests and transports them to a different world. The “Steamspire Village” installation invited guests into a 12 by 17-foot room that was darkened and draped to create narrow passages, strategically lit, and decorated with objets d’art to evoke the current theme. Every corner presents the visitor with a creative vignette. It might be intricate timepieces, overstuffed chairs, a sewing machine that starts up by a motion detector, mobiles, stuffed animals, or even a faux fireplace. That’s a lot of art to cram into what was once a small bedroom.
But it’s what Christensen is driven to do.
“The Gallery is easy to talk about because I'm kind of obsessed with it,” she said. “But it's also the truth. I really try not to get blindsided by other things. I try to stick to my vision and what I want to see, to design an envisioned environment and not let anything distract me.”
The community has been very receptive, for which Christensen is thankful.
“When people come to the gallery, I want them to feel that they've been invited into my home. I want them to stay and have a good time. They should feel like a guest instead of a visitor.”
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Christensen Gallery
505 Main
Blanco TX 78606
Hours: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from noon to five during exhibits
832-860-0275
ChristensenGallery.com
