Jessica Maria Hopkins

Takoma Park, MD

    Jessica Maria Hopkins (b. Washington, DC) lives and works in Takoma Park, MD. Hopkins is figurative painter whose artistic training at Howard University aligns her with the painting traditions of Alma Thomas and the AfriCOBRA movement. Hopkins experiments with surface texture, explores the symbolic value of decorative patterning, and accesses the emotional potential of color in her work.

   The artist draws deeply from her personal experiences to create vibrant portrayals of human vulnerability, strength, spirit and renewal. Hopkins reflects, “As a consequence of my illness, I became the subject, and my approach to painting changed as well. I began to notice a different language starting to develop, which was an abstraction in my art and reality. I began to use color to represent a mask and use a wood pattern to express how the exterior of my body felt after radiation. Each portrait examines my interpretation of the different stages of my transformation.” 

Hopkins’ work is in the collection of the University of the District of Columbia as well as numerous private collections.