Anita Hawkins

Anita Hawkins embraces textile mediums as extensions of a drawing and painting practice, layering symbolism, reference, and process into visual texts and tactile feasts. She grew up under the influence of books, being a nervy and anxious child, and used drawing to create inhabitable worlds. First starting her university arts education in 2008, she attended several universities over the following years, finally graduating from the University of Utah in 2019. She has focused her arts education and process into contemporary textile practices, converging on crochet as synchronized paint and sculpture mediums. Influenced by the Abstract Expressionists and Neo Dadaists, she makes works that proclaim both their textile sensuality and laborious process while relating to art history and curation traditions. She is equally influenced by singular artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Kiki Smith that use fiber works as a commentary on expectations of femininity and mental illness.

Artist Statement
Anita Hawkins embraces textile mediums as extensions of a drawing and painting practice, layering symbolism, reference, and process into visual texts and tactile feasts. A conversation between objects is an exchange between the emotional and personal history of the viewer and the history related to the object. She combined her previous traditional arts education and current process-focused art practice into contemporary textile practices, converging on crochet as synchronized paint and sculpture mediums. She coalesces computer-based drafting with meditative physical processes to create large-scale works with a physical presence. Influenced by the Abstract Expressionists and Neo Dadaists, she makes works that proclaim both their textile sensuality and laborious process while placing themselves firmly in relation to art curation traditions. She is equally influenced by singular artists such as Louise Bourgeois and Kiki Smith that use fiber works as a commentary on expectations of femininity and mental illness.