Cindy Rivarde

Contemporary Artist

Cindy Rivarde (b. 1966, Toledo, Ohio) is a Maryland-based painter whose vibrant, expressive work merges personal memory, cultural mythology, and figurative storytelling. Her paintings weave together human and anthropomorphic forms, creating narratives that explore connection, place, belonging, and the disruption of those bonds.

Rivarde’s sense of drama and narrative derives in part from her background in theater. She earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with double majors in visual art and dramatic art, receiving the Paul and Elizabeth Green Award for women in theater and honors in set design. She later received an M.F.A. in Painting from Towson University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut.

Her work has been exhibited at galleries and museums including the Stamford Museum of Art and Nature, Stamford, CT; Bergen County Museum, Paramus, NJ; I A & A at Hillyer, Washington, D.C.; Strathmore Art Gallery, Bethesda, MD; MIFA Gallery, Miami, FL; Mosaic Gallery, Fairfax, VA; and BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, MD. In 2026, Rivarde presented a solo exhibition at Hamilton Gallery, Baltimore, MD. Earlier solo exhibitions include Casa Turquesa Gallery, Coral Gables, FL; Societa Dante Alighieri, Coral Gables, FL; and Montpelier Art Center, Laurel, MD.

In addition to her studio practice, Rivarde is an economic development professional and real estate attorney whose work has focused on placemaking, cultural programming, public art initiatives, and community engagement. She currently lives and works in Maryland.

“My practice as a painter is rooted in exploring connections—to nature, to others, to time, and critically, to the disruption of those connections.”