Image: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is continuing its ‘Giants of San Diego’ series with a feature on Misty Hawkins, a painter born and raised in San Diego whose work centers on portraits, self-portraits and questions of empathy. The museum describes Hawkins as one of five San Diego-based artists interviewed for the series, which builds from the philosophy behind ‘Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys,’ the current exhibition at MCASD.
The Hawkins profile presents her studio practice as deeply rooted in figurative painting. In the museum’s account, her space is filled with portraits, a work-in-progress still life and sketchbooks from figure drawing classes, with paintings that “stare back” at viewers. Hawkins says she has always loved drawing faces and bodies, and although she has experience with landscapes and still life, she returns to portraits and the figure as the center of her work.
A key focus of the profile is Hawkins’ self-portrait series, which she says grew from a phone photo session and from an interest in “removing the public mask.” The museum quotes her describing the series as a way to understand what she keeps “under wraps” or behind that mask, noting that the paintings take time to make and therefore allow for sustained reflection. The source material does not frame the series as a finished project with a set number of works; it presents it as part of her ongoing practice.
The profile also emphasizes Hawkins’ attention to materials and process. MCASD says she continues to experiment with different ways to mix skin tones and work across various surfaces, and that each painting may begin differently. The artist’s teaching is part of that same practice: she teaches beginner freehand drawing and life drawing, which the museum says helps her remember what it is like to start from the basics.
Empathy emerges as the unifying idea in the museum’s description of her work. According to the profile, Hawkins wants her paintings to connect with others and for viewers to feel something of what she felt while making them. The museum includes her statement that “the circle is completed” when a painting leaves her studio and is seen by someone else, and that what she wants most is “that connection with another person.”
‘Giants of San Diego’ is presented by MCASD as an interview-based series of profiles of five local artists, each centered on contemporary creative practice and the ways it has thrived in the city. The museum’s broader exhibition context is also spelled out clearly: ‘Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’ is on view at MCASD through August 9, 2026, with a closing celebration scheduled for August 7. The exhibition opened April 18 and is described by the museum as the inaugural West Coast display of the Dean Collection.
