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Lot Essay
Currency of Meaning #9, an important exemplar from New York artist Cynthia Hawkins’ first series of paintings, demonstrates the artist’s early entanglements and explorations of geometric abstraction. The work’s vertical orientation references the written page, while the symbols proliferating on the bottom and top registers are inspired by the artist’s research into ancient signs and symbols, particularly in the work of philosopher Susanne K. Langer. Hawkins’ research-oriented practice experienced a critical shift after reading Langer’s Philosophy in a New Key, which provided her with the insight that understanding and meaning could be inferred from the mere suggestion of a form or fragment of a symbol. The series was first shown in 1989 at Cinque, a New York gallery founded by Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, and Ernest Crichlow.
Cynthia Hawkins, born in Queens, New York in 1950, is an academic and curator as well as a painter. She developed a foundation in art history as a child from religiously reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, checked out through the public library. Her early interest in ancient and particularly Cycladic art led to an eagerness for geometric abstraction which has followed her through her career. Her undergraduate education was with Lois Dodd and Harry Kramer at Queens College, and received drawing classes from Anthony Palumbo at the Art Students League. She was a 1987-88 artist in residence at the Sudio Museum, and earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, as well as a MA in museum studies from Seton Hall University and a doctorate in American Studies at from the University of Buffalo, SUNY.
"When I look back, I can see that it’s all progressive and an evolving project. I am grateful that I allowed myself to pursue an evolutionary path. I was always concerned about having a canvas and not knowing what to do with it." - Cynthia Hawkins
Her use of color is heavily influenced by the work of Josef Albers, Paul Klee, and Piet Mondrian, while her style developed out of the energized environment of 1970s New York, where she enmeshed herself in the Black-owned gallery scene whilst also forming the feminist women artist Ten Women Group. Reflecting on her artistic journey, Hawkins recently reflected: “When I look back, I can see that it’s all progressive and an evolving project. I am grateful that I allowed myself to pursue an evolutionary path. I was always concerned about having a canvas and not knowing what to do that with it” (C. Hawkins, quoted in J. Trotta, “Cynthia Hawkins by Julia Trotta,” BOMB Magazine Issue 167/Spring 2024). Her work has been exhibited widely, including at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and is in several prominent permanent collections, including La Grange Art Museum in Georgia and the Studio Museum in Harlem, which holds Currency Meaning #11, from the same series as the present work.
Cynthia Hawkins, born in Queens, New York in 1950, is an academic and curator as well as a painter. She developed a foundation in art history as a child from religiously reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, checked out through the public library. Her early interest in ancient and particularly Cycladic art led to an eagerness for geometric abstraction which has followed her through her career. Her undergraduate education was with Lois Dodd and Harry Kramer at Queens College, and received drawing classes from Anthony Palumbo at the Art Students League. She was a 1987-88 artist in residence at the Sudio Museum, and earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, as well as a MA in museum studies from Seton Hall University and a doctorate in American Studies at from the University of Buffalo, SUNY.
"When I look back, I can see that it’s all progressive and an evolving project. I am grateful that I allowed myself to pursue an evolutionary path. I was always concerned about having a canvas and not knowing what to do with it." - Cynthia Hawkins
Her use of color is heavily influenced by the work of Josef Albers, Paul Klee, and Piet Mondrian, while her style developed out of the energized environment of 1970s New York, where she enmeshed herself in the Black-owned gallery scene whilst also forming the feminist women artist Ten Women Group. Reflecting on her artistic journey, Hawkins recently reflected: “When I look back, I can see that it’s all progressive and an evolving project. I am grateful that I allowed myself to pursue an evolutionary path. I was always concerned about having a canvas and not knowing what to do that with it” (C. Hawkins, quoted in J. Trotta, “Cynthia Hawkins by Julia Trotta,” BOMB Magazine Issue 167/Spring 2024). Her work has been exhibited widely, including at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and is in several prominent permanent collections, including La Grange Art Museum in Georgia and the Studio Museum in Harlem, which holds Currency Meaning #11, from the same series as the present work.