Entry
Free, donations welcome
Dates
Sat 23 May–Sun 13 Sep 2026
Hours
11am–5pm, Tue–Sun and Bank Holidays
Location
Turner Contemporary, Rendezvous, Margate
Hulda Guzmán’s paintings open portals into vibrant, dreamlike worlds, where the artist, her family, animals and mythical beings exist in close dialogue with nature. Spanning a decade of work and featuring new, large-scale works, Turner Contemporary presents the first European institutional exhibition of the Dominican artist.
Admission to Turner is free. A one-off or regular donation will help support artists to realise exciting new exhibitions and inspire over 300,000 children, young people and adults each year with free access to art and creative activities.
Exhibition overview
Drawing on folk art, Caribbean vernacular traditions, and art history, the exhibition introduces Guzmán’s vibrant vision of landscape as a site of mysticism and ecological consciousness to Margate.
The biodiverse environment of the artist’s home in the rainforest mountains of Samaná in the Dominican Republic deeply shapes Guzmán’s visual language. Her richly layered, landscapes and interiors echo the lush abundance of her surroundings while engaging with questions of identity, belonging and the urgent realities of climate change.
Please awake – asked Nature kindly is Guzmán’s most extensive solo exhibition to date, and traces the evolution of her practice from intimate studio interiors rendered on wooden panels to expansive landscapes. Across these works, Guzmán develops interconnected themes of mysticism and the enduring wonder of the natural world.
‘Hulda Guzmán reimagines landscape at a time when our relationship with the natural world feels increasingly urgent.’
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Hulda Guzmán, 'Uva de playa 2', 2020 [Seagrape 2]. Private Collection, New York . © Hulda Guzmán. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Dario Lasagni. -
Hulda Guzmán, 'I’m for the birds', 2025. Private Collection. © Hulda Guzmán. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Eduardo Ortega. -
Hulda Guzmán, 'Be kind to your demons (Until next time)', 2018. Collection of Alexander Berggruen, New York. © Hulda Guzmán. Photo: courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. -
Hulda Guzmán, 'Fresa salvaje', 2021 [Wild Strawberry]. Collection of Alexander Berggruen, New York. © Hulda Guzmán. Photo: courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. -
Hulda Guzmán, 'In the studio' (detail), 2022. Collection of Hester Koper and Stefan von Bartha. © Hulda Guzmán. Photo: courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen NY. -
Hulda Guzmán, 'Under the bitter Orange tree', 2020. Tomokazu Matsuyama. © Hulda Guzmán. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Dario Lasagni. -
Hulda Guzmán, 'Undefined ceremony', 2019. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. © Hulda Guzmán. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Eduardo Ortega.
Nature meets mysticism
In Guzmán’s paintings, nature emerges as an active force and protagonist subtly challenging Western landscape traditions rooted in romanticism and the picturesque. Her expressive handling of paint and colour conveys a palpable sense of vitality and magic—qualities that, in an age of climate anxiety, remind us to slow down and reflect.
An almost surreal sensibility characterises the work, heightened by a vivid, technicolour palette. Often beginning her landscapes from direct observation before using Photoshop to digitally assemble and position characters within it, this method allows her to establish the narrative structure of a painting before translating the figures into paint. In the resulting works, shifting scales, perspectives, and painterly treatments coexist within a single canvas. These visual instabilities introduce a sense of magical realism, inviting viewers to encounter reality as layered and open to interpretation.
‘I am interested in exploring mystery as an integral part of our existence. When nothing is certain, anything is possible.’
The artist's practice
Guzmán’s practice explores humanity's relationship to the natural world, acknowledging the Caribbean’s beauty alongside its environmental vulnerability.
This exhibition presents Guzmán as a compelling new voice in contemporary painting, offering nuanced reflections on place. Her paintings evoke both wonder and reckoning.
They insist we see the natural world not as a backdrop, but as a living force to which we are inextricably bound.
‘Sharing my work at Turner Contemporary feels especially meaningful in Margate where the rhythms of nature remain powerfully present, creating a dialogue between contrasting geographies and reminding us of our shared vulnerability.’
This illustrated artwork forms part of the artist’s broader practice and is presented here for contextual reference.
Curated by Melissa Blanchflower.
Header image: Hulda Guzmán, Under the bitter Orange tree, 2020. Tomokazu Matsuyama.
© Hulda Guzmán. Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Berggruen, NY. Photo: Dario Lasagni.
About the artist
Hulda Guzmán (b.1984), lives and works in Samaná and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She studied fine art and illustration at the Escuela de Diseño Altos de Chavón, in the Dominican Republic, and completed her bachelor’s degree in visual arts specialising in photography and mural painting at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, in Mexico City.
In 2025 Guzmán held her first solo museum exhibition Miracle Fruits at Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil. Recent group exhibitions include the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Colorado Springs; Denver Art Museum; Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C. and Pérez Art Museum, Miami, all in the US, and Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo, San José, Costa Rica and Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo. In 2019, she was part of the Dominican Republic pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale.
Guzmán’s paintings are held in the permanent collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Baltimore Museum of Art; Pérez Art Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA); Dallas Museum of Art; Denver Art Museum; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), He Art Museum (HEM), Guangdong, China; and Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paulo, Brazil; among others.
Accessibility information
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We offer free monthly BSL tours of all our exhibitions, which you can book here.
We also subtitle all our films where possible and offer written transcripts of both films and audio works on display.
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A hearing loop system is in place at our retail and café counters.
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We’re wheelchair accessible, with step-free access and a lift serving both floors. You can enter the gallery via the access ramp to the right of the entrance steps.
You can also borrow a wheelchair or portable stool during your visit, and our staff will be happy to help if you require any additional assistance.
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Large print versions of the exhibition text and magnifying sheets are available. Please ask a member of staff if you would like to use them.
Our staff are trained in delivering audio descriptive tours. If you would like more information about booking an audio described tour please get in touch with us: access@turnercontemporary.org | +44(0)1843 233 000 (operated daily 10am–5pm)
Audio versions of the exhibition text can be found on our free digital guide on the Bloomberg Connects app. For more information and to download the app click here. -
Entry to the exhibition is free, but we welcome donations.
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Our opening times are:
11am–5pm, Tuesday to Sunday
And every Bank Holiday. -
Turner Contemporary, Rendezvous, Margate, CT9 1HG
Exhibition Lead Supporter
Exhibition Circle Supporters
Chelsea Heuer
Erica Roberts Art Foundation
Mildred Palley
Nora Wessel & Scott Baxter
And those who wish to remain anonymous
Public Funding
