K/S/R, Nishi-Smith + Nakamura, Djll + Day + Corcoran, Max Abner

Name: K/S/R, Nishi-Smith + Nakamura, Djll + Day + Corcoran, Max Abner
Start: 2026-04-12T19:30:00-07:00
Location: Canessa Gallery

Schedule

Sun, 12 Apr, 2026 at 07:30 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Canessa Gallery | San Francisco, CA

Coming up at Canessa Gallery!
K/S/R
Kanoko Nishi-Smith + Aine Nakamura
Tom Djll + Bryan Day + Kevin Corcoran
Max Abner
April 12 7:30 PM. Doors at 7.
Pay what you can. NOTAFLOF
K/S/R (the New Mexico & Hudson Valley based trio of Ben Kujawski, Abigail Smith & Justin Rhody) have been performing and recording together since 2022. During that time they've released multiple cassettes, CD's and vinyl records, and devastated audiences across the country with multi-projector expanded cinema performances. On the group's recent 'Already in Heaven' LP, violin, percussion, lap steel, accordion, flute, guitar, harmonica, and rhodes piano are stretched, damaged and made to sing through various extended techniques. The trio’s non-concentric approach to collective improvisation mirrors the dark harmonic density and symbiotic formal structures of the cosmos. Industrial work zones are also a major inspiration. K/S/R's intention is to drag the listener through an amorphous subterranean chimera toward an ever elusive horizon. Desert Crawl.
Ben Kujawski: rhodes piano, accordion, bass
Abigail Smith: drums, flute, percussion
Justin Rhody: violin, guitar, harmonica
Their music has been featured on the Coast to Coast AM radio program, and has been regularly broadcast on experimental and jazz-focused radio programs across three continents. All three members of K/S/R are also experimental filmmakers working in 35mm, 16mm and Super-8mm film and their respective works for moving image have been widely exhibited at museums, festivals, and underground venues around the world. All three members also founded No Name Cinema in Santa Fe New Mexico in late 2021 (an anti-capitalist warehouse-based microcinema, gallery, and community space focused on showcasing experimental, non-commercial work). In 2026 the trio are releasing a split LP with Canadian noise legends, Nihilist Spasm Band, touring both coasts of the United States, and completing a large-scale expanded cinema work for four projectors and live improvised accompaniment.
K/S/R has previously performed at Other Cinema (San Francisco), Highlands University (Las Vegas), Feeding Tube Records (Northampton MA), No Name Cinema (Santa Fe), Dog Park / Notice Recordings (Hudson NY), Shapeshifters Cinema (Oakland), Wave Archive / Desert Drone (Tucson), University of New Mexico (Albuquerque), Untouchable (Newburgh NY), the firehouse (Joshua Tree), Sandbox (Santa Fe), Cold Spring Hollow (Belchertown MA), LongHair Records (Albuquerque), and the Light Matter Experimental Festival (Alfred University, NY).
Ben Kujawski is a musician, filmmaker, photographer, and art worker based in the Catskill region. Originally from Long Island, he earned his BFA in film at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. His work has been shown at the Woodstock Film Festival, the Museum of the Moving Image, Anthology Film Archive and Pace Gallery as well as other institutions and festivals across the US and Internationally. Kujawski is a co-founder of No Name Cinema and plays piano, lapsteel, bass, and accordion in K/S/R.
Abigail Smith is an experimental filmmaker, musician, collage artist, field recordist, and master librarian based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Smith is a co-founder and operator of No Name Cinema, and her films have been widely exhibited internationally. A book of Smith’s collage work was published by Mirro Editions and an album of her field recordings was released on the Eh? label. Her most recent exhibition was a two-person show at the Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe. She plays flute and percussion in K/S/R.
Justin Clifford Rhody is a musician, photographer, filmmaker, writer and curator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His film and photo work has been widely exhibited internationally, he has played on over 50 cassettes and vinyl records, and he has been organizing art, film and music events for over 20 years. Rhody ran the Friends & Relatives record label from 1999-2016, and currently operates the Physical media label. He is a co-founder, operator and lead programmer at No Name Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Books of his photographic work have been published by Mirro Editions, Bathetic, Wharf Cat, and Capricious. Rhody plays violin, guitar, and harmonica in K/S/R.