steven cabral: Between Presence and Pause

EXHIBITION DATES: september 30 - october 25, 2025

RECEPTION: Thursday, october 9, 5 - 8 pm

Closing RECEPTION: Saturday, october 25, 4 - 6 pm

The Painting Center is pleased to present Between Presence and Pause, a solo exhibition by contemporary abstract artist Steven Cabral. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, September 30, and runs through Saturday, October 25, 2025.

Between Presence and Pause features a new body of work that meditates on the nuanced space between action and stillness—presence and absence, chaos and calm. Through abstract paintings and mixed-media works, Steven Cabral explores the emotional and energetic resonance of transitional moments—those fleeting intervals when perception shifts and time feels suspended. With layered surfaces, subtle mark-making, and a restrained yet expressive palette, Cabral invites viewers into a contemplative space where awareness deepens and stillness becomes active.

“Between Presence and Pause is about listening to the silence between beats,” says Cabral. “It’s a study of what lingers, what fades, and what holds.” This exhibition marks Cabral’s second solo show at The Painting Center and signals a deepening of his process-driven approach. The new works embrace spaciousness and restraint while retaining the emotional immediacy and intuitive gestures that characterize his evolving visual language.

Cabral’s practice is rooted in experimentation and attentiveness. His process is iterative, intuitive, and materially responsive: surfaces are poured, stained, sanded, added, removed, broken, and recombined. Rather than working toward a fixed meaning, Cabral moves in conversation with sensation, memory, and emotional resonance. Between Presence and Pause is a meditation on what’s left behind and what rises to the surface—a study in holding space for uncertainty, discovery, and transformation. The works in this exhibition often appear in series, each guided by a distinct internal rhythm or feeling. They are not literal reflections of personal history but are shaped by lived experience, felt perception, and deep listening. Cabral creates room for ambiguity and stillness, allowing viewers to bring their own meaning, or none at all. The invitation is simple: show up, feel, notice.

Art does not always ask to be explained. Sometimes, it asks to be felt. In that space, meaning can be brought or left behind. The work remains quiet, alive, and open to encounter.

Steven Cabral is a painter based in Somerville, Massachusetts. His abstract, process-oriented works have been exhibited widely throughout the Northeast. Cabral received his BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and his MFA from Lesley University College of Art and Design. His practice focuses on material exploration, intuitive mark-making, and the emotive potential of abstraction.

For more information on the artist, visit: www.stevenjcabral.com  and @steven_cabral36.