Artist Profile: Mary Hawkins
Overview
Mary Hawkins is a multidisciplinary artist based in Queens, New York, whose work blends motion graphics, narrative illustration, and animation. Known for her typography-driven style and vivid use of color, Hawkins crafts emotionally layered visual stories that bridge fine art and design. Her creative practice explores urban life, memory, and whimsy through a digital lens.
Her acclaimed video series Love Letters to the Subway animates all 23 NYC subway lines into individual, looped love notes to the city’s transit system. With installations projected onto museum facades and screenings at major film festivals, the project has become a heartfelt tribute to public space and collective experience. Still frames from the series have been shown in exhibitions across New York City.
Professionally, Hawkins has contributed art direction and VFX to award-winning films and museum projects. Her early digital design work is part of the permanent collections at SFMOMA and the Museum of the Moving Image. A longtime board member of Gotham Roller Derby, she merges storytelling and community advocacy in all aspects of her creative life.
Featured Artwork
Bushwick Gallery
Artwork Title: Love Letters to the Subway
Year of Creation: 2023
Medium: Video art – 23 animated loops + 2-minute festival cut
Dimensions: Digital, 3000×3000 pixels per loop
Location: Queens, New York, USA