Cynthia Hawkins will present her work at the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, which runs from September 6, 2025, to January 11, 2026, at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung leads the curatorial team, with Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, and Keyna Eleison as co-curators.
This edition, titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice, takes inspiration from the poem “Da calma e do silêncio” by Conceição Evaristo and explores themes of humanity, nature, and attentive listening in a time of global challenges. Hawkins joins over 120 artists from around the world in this thoughtful gathering.
Since the early 1970s, Cynthia Hawkins, born in 1950 in Queens, New York, has created abstract paintings that reflect her interest in literature, philosophy, and science. Her vivid use of color and her commitment to working in series shape her distinctive approach. Hawkins recently held a solo show titled Maps Necessary for a Walk in 4D at Paula Cooper Gallery.
She earned a BA in painting from Queens College, City University of New York, in 1977, and an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 1992. Her artworks appear in respected public collections such as The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Kenkeleba Gallery, The La Grange Art Museum, and the U.S. Department of State.
Throughout her career, Hawkins has received several honors, including the Helen Frankenthaler Award for Painting (2023), a Black Metropolis Research Consortium Fellowship (2009), the Herbert and Irene Wheeler Grant (1995), and the Brooklyn Museum Art School Scholarship (1972).
For more information about Cynthia Hawkins, visit Paula Cooper Gallery
Learn more about the artist: Cynthia Hawkins
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