In the Studio with Multi-disciplinary Artist Jen Hicks

We’re back in the studio with Hudson Valley–based multidisciplinary artist Jennifer Hicks. Working across performance art, figure drawing, and abstract painting, Hicks explores the “internal landscape” of her subjects, using drawing and painting as a meditative practice. Through layered applications of mixed media, acrylic, and oil, she captures fleeting moments of stillness, presence, and emotional depth.

In addition to her studio practice, Hicks is the founder of Jane St. Art, where she curates exhibitions and actively supports fellow artists throughout the Hudson Valley. Her work there reflects a commitment to accessibility and community, fostering an environment that is both inclusive and creatively energizing. She is also the proprietor of Newberry Aritsan Market, a retail shop that hosts over 35 local Hudson Valley vendors, including pottery, jewelry, unique designer clothing, eco-friendly body products, vintage and art!

Hicks holds an MFA in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University and a BFA from Tufts University. She was also a longtime member of Mobius, the oldest performance art collective in the United States. Her work has been exhibited and performed widely, including at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among other notable institutions.

We caught up with Hicks for a rich conversation about her practice, creative process, and sources of inspiration. Read our exclusive interview below and watch the accompanying video by little.bit.creates.

INSIDE+OUT: Where are you originally from and how did you wind up in the Hudson Valley?

Jen Hicks: I grew up in Lawrenceville, NJ, a small village with Lawrenceville School at its heart. The village was surrounded by farmlands when I was growing up, but later got run over like so many other villages with highways, gas stations and developments. I moved out as soon as I could and went to college in Upstate NY. That was my first introduction to the Hudson Valley. I fell in love with this area. I was majoring in art and philosophy at the time. We took several class trips for our photography class, and one of them was to Woodstock. That was it. I was hooked. From then on, I made the trek to the mid-Hudson Valley every chance I could get.

I wound up here for a number of reasons, but it goes something like this: I had been teaching at a Buddhist institution in Boulder, Colorado, called Naropa University and traveling back to the Boston area to work and be near my elderly father, who lived on Cape Cod. I had recently become certified as a massage therapist, and once my job teaching at Naropa dried up due to a change in the infrastructure, I took a job as a massage therapist at two high-end resorts in the Boston area. All this was happening while I was also painting, teaching Butoh dance in Cambridge, MA and was a member of a performance collective in Boston called Mobius. Everything came to a screeching halt when my father died. I basically just fell apart. A tangential relationship I had at the time wasn’t sustainable, and I quit my job, so my sister and I could deal with our father’s affairs. At that point, I made my plan to spend 6 months doing that, then leave. I needed a radical change and needed at new environment to start fresh.

I knew a lot of creative friends who had moved to the Saugerties area and absolutely loved it, so it made sense to me to move there. There is a strong arts community here, a Buddhist community, a connection to the Naropa people, a connection to NYC, beautiful nature, and affordable housing, so I sold my apartment in Boston and found a place in Saugerties. Plus, it had the feeling of the little village I grew up in. The only piece of this was the job. I had no idea what I was going to do for work. But I figured I’d take the leap and sort that part out later. I had some extra money from selling my apartment, so I could take the chance. So I packed up my art studio in Boston, sold my place and came to Saugerties. There was a lot left for me to sort out, but I figured I had to try. I couldn’t just stay in the same situation in Boston, endlessly circle the same path over and over. I felt dead in Boston, so I needed to get out. I love Saugerties so much and have never looked back.

What inspired you to become an artist? What was your journey?

Jen Hicks: Becoming an artist is different than drawing or making art, I think. “Becoming” is the keyword here. I drew and was immersed in creative thinking since I was a kid. Both my parents were creative people. My dad had been production manager for WNEW in NYC, so I got to go into the studio and see how TV was made. It was very exciting! I met Soupy Sales and was backstage at Wonderama. My dad would come home with great stories. Plus, he had a sort of “mad scientist” studio in the basement of our house where he made things. Weird experiments, which I got to help with.

My mother had been a dancer growing up, then a nurse and later studied art and opera singing. She also had a studio in our house where she painted and sculpted. I wouldn’t say she was a great artist by any means, but what I appreciate more now about my mother is that it didn’t matter. She had a passion for making art, and she dove in wholeheartedly. She took many classes and continued working. It wasn’t about becoming a famous artist. It was that she loved making art and learning about it. I sat with her a lot while she was making things. She was also on the board for the New Jersey State Museum, so they ran with a sort of wild, creative crowd.

Becoming an artist, for me, was a matter of being creatively nurtured and of continuing to make work. It’s a kind of internal drive that makes one have to do it. People have various reasons, but I think the ‘having to do it’ as a life force is what separates an artist from someone who makes work as a hobby. I have to do it for my own mental health. That’s how I’m wired. I was sick a lot as a kid, so drawing was my way of coping. I drew all the time. It wasn’t until many years later that I realized that this way of being in the world was my life, and I was comfortable telling people I was an artist. It was just a fact at that point.

What medium do you work in primarily? Say more about your paintings, process and what you hope to convey in your work.

Right now, I am focusing on drawing and painting, but that can shift to sculpture, performance, etc., depending on what the idea needs to become concrete. I have too many ideas swirling in my head, so part of my process involves focusing on the human experience, and that is looking at real humans. Life drawing from the model is a conduit for life experiences and how they layer on top of one another. So I’m interested in moments, I guess and placing those moments next to or on top of each other. In that case, it’s also about the experience of making the work, the mark-making and the choices made while the model is posing. There is a time limit, and I like that. I’m not interested in making a detailed drawing or painting anymore. I don’t care about that. I care about the moment and that feeling. I feel like a kind of channel, and my goal is to keep that channel open throughout the process: receiving information, seeing and looking carefully and translating what I see and feel through my body onto a surface. In this sense, my work is both very personal and universal.

It’s funny because someone asked me recently how I can look at a naked person for 3 hours. I actually don’t think of that person as “naked. Maybe I used to when I first started life drawing in High School, but now I see a model as full of themselves. Each person emanates a quality and being that is really interesting to me. I still go back and forth between days when I want to check in on my ability to capture a likeness or details, but as soon as I start getting too tight or obsessed with that, I drop it. That quest for a likeness can be a trap sometimes, and I need to beware of that. I already did that training, and I absolutely see value in learning to be a fine draftsman, but I don’t want to stay there. My goal is to continually go deeper, and sometimes that means the ‘less is more’ approach. I will see if I’m seeing something correctly, then let it go as an assumed gesture and then put down something else that surprises me. That’s much more fun. That surprise leads to the next choice, and it goes on like that.

What specific techniques do you use to overcome creative blocks when/if you feel stuck?

Jen Hicks: The only thing you can do is keep working. It’s that simple. Just make work. Get in the studio and make a mess. Don’t care about judgment, just make a mess. Every artist knows they need to be willing to have the bravery to make massive mistakes in order to grow and discover something. So go boldly into that. If you aren’t willing to make mistakes and become frustrated, you will only stay where you are and never grow.

How do you structure your days to balance studio time with other commitments, namely Jane Street Art and Newberry Artisan Market?

Jen Hicks: No structure. Ha! Structure makes me crazy, and it’s futile. Honestly, I try, but nothing is ever as I expect it to be. My plans go sideways constantly, so I need to be fluid and adaptable. This goes for my staff. We all use the “go with the flow” attitude, triage what needs to happen first, and let the rest wait until it’s needed. It’s easier said than done sometimes, but there is no other way to do it. If you don’t do it this way, it gets very confusing. We have a lot of moving parts. It’s like a constant chess game. Plus, I need to say there is no way I could do all this without my awesome staff! They are the absolute best. I feel unbelievably blessed to work with such awesome people.

Balancing art and business also has to do with my energy level and how I compartmentalize my brain. Meditation helps to sort out the chatter and be in the moment. So I paint when I can, work when I can, and rest when I can, and that’s how it goes.

What are the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of being an artist?

Jen Hicks: I think there are a few challenging things, but the challenges can change as one moves through one’s career. For me, at this point, it’s time. So that goes back to your previous question. When I feel consumed by the gallery, I need to step out and make work. That’s not always easy to do, but my staff is taking on more of the day-to-day running of the gallery now, so I can move back toward being an artist. To do that, I need periods of quiet and reflection. I live in the woods now, and the trees help me. (Thanks, trees!) They are a mighty army of protective beings standing tall outside my window, telling me to keep going. That being said, the most rewarding for me is the community. That might seem odd, but there is something about talking with other artists about their process that is absolutely fascinating to me. This is why having a gallery means so much. We are not alone. We share ideas and channel other worlds into being for the rest of the community to share. It’s a weird and amazing thing to be part of.

What makes living in the Hudson Valley special for you?

Jen Hicks: There are so many things, but it’s a combination of creative community, small towns, beauty, nature, friends and a proximity to Boston and NYC that make this place ideal for me. There is a deep hum to this place I love. Old mountains and deep history.

What is one question you’re constantly asked about your work?

Jen Hicks: Good question. I don’t have an answer, really. I don’t get asked about anything constantly. My work isn’t straightforward, so it’s open to interpretation, and I’m fine with that. People can see into it what they like. I do my thing, then it’s out in the world, and people see it through their own lenses. My job is to stay true to the time as I’m working, and once that’s done, it’s released. I’m more curious if someone sees something I never saw in it. That opens a door I didn’t know was there, and that makes me happy. It forces me to think in a new way. That’s great.

What local businesses do you rely on to be successful?

Jen Hicks: All my contractors for one. Huge shout-out to everyone who has worked on these buildings, and there are a lot of people who have helped. These are old buildings and need a lot of love and repairs. I am a member of the Saugerties Chamber of Commerce and served on the board, so I would say we all hold hands and lift each other up. That’s the best way to be. I didn’t go to business school, so I had to learn as I went, so there is that, too. From my bankers, who helped me get the loans, to attorneys, advertising agents, other galleries and contractors, I learned from everyone.

What is missing in the area that you wish we had?

Jen Hicks: An art store closer to Saugerties. I wish we had that.

What local businesses should we know about?

Jen Hicks: Well, I’m going to self-promote here, but the Newberry Artisan Market has over 35 amazing local vendors, and I think everyone should go in and meet all of them!

Who or what inspires you personally?

Jen Hicks: People who dedicate themselves to their craft, nature, and people taking chances creatively. You have to be brave to make good art, and I respect that.

What do you do for fun when you are not in the studio?

Jen Hicks: For fun, I play with my dogs, go to dinner with friends, hike, go to the theater, and visit museums. If I can travel, I do that too!

Tell us something about yourself that people would be surprised to know.

Jen Hicks: I used to show horses and was in training for the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden when I was in high school. I was about to qualify, but my horse fell, and I fell under him as we circled following the fences. It was bad ground with sand and slate. Very slippery. We fell, and I had a serious concussion.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Jen Hicks: To be calm. That would be my superpower. Super Calm. I’d like a cap with that, a fancy skin-tight suit, and the body to go with it, too. Thank you. : )

Video by littlebitcreates and photos courtesy of Jen Hicks.

Follow/Connect with Jenn Hicks via Website | Instagram | Facebook

Visit Jane St. Art Center to explore current programming and view the group exhibition Matter Out of Place, on view through May 5.