Maggie Hinders

Biography

Maggie Hinders grew up a few miles outside the farm town of Celina, Ohio near the Indiana border.

From a young age she was fascinated by looking at and making art. She studied painting and drawing at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

After receiving her degree she moved from Cincinnati to New York where she worked as a graphic designer and continued to study painting at Hunter College, Parsons, and the Art Students League.

In 2005 on a sabbatical from her design job she began painting regularly in her home and in 2010 opened a studio where she now works.

She lives with her husband in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Artist statement

My most recent work evolved from organic, leaf-like shapes into clustered vertical elements that reference cities. For most of this year I have been working on rough wood panels prepared with sealer and gesso and a colored ground. When the painting is finished, I paint the sides and fit it with wire for hanging which adds a sculptural dimension. 

The paintings from 2020 and 2021 are inspired by a sense of being surrounded by thoughts of significant persons in my life. The lively palette is a deliberate contrast to the quiet, reflective mood of the characters in the paintings. The works begin with a pencil sketch on paper to layout the image. Then I prepare a panel or canvas and apply a colored ground before proceeding with developing a painting loosely based on the pencil sketch. If new ideas develop as I work I incorporate them into the composition. The result is a form of lyrical abstraction, invoking dreams or daydreams.

Earlier paintings of imaginary animals are derived from internet photos, garden ornaments, and toys. Their fractured forms and kaleidoscopic colors, evoke our often conflicting internal and external worlds.