LaToya Hobbs is an artist, wife, and mother of two from Little Rock, AR, currently living and working in Baltimore, MD. Her exhibition record includes national and internation venues, her work is housed in private and public collections, and she has won various awards for her craft. Hobbes is also a Professor at the Maryland Istitute College of Art and a founding member of Black Women of Print, a collective whose vision is to make visible the narratives and works of Black women printmakers.
Hobbs came to Bucknell for a conversational lunch with students, an artist workshop, and lecture on art as an embodiment of Black joy, rest, and renewal. The events with Hobbs were cosponsored by the Samek Art Museum in coordination with the Griot Institute.
Hobbs attended the event with her husband and their two children. Her husband, an artist himself, photographs LaToya’s artwork. Their young kids, who each self identified as artists, quitely sketched out various scenes and elaborate characters as LaToya shared her artistic processes, inspirations, and career. When asked how she balances activism in her art, Hobbs remarked that she does not consider herself to be an art activist, she said “I am just showing up as myself and I think that’s the most important thing you can do for your art… its going to reach the people that it’s supposed to reach… Just because I am a black woman doesn’t mean that those who are not cannot realte to my work. I want my work to be everywhere because its universal.”
Hobbs was later asked how she navigated graduate school and the professional world as a black woman artist, the questioner noting the common difficulties for black artists being boxed into certain categories of art, specifically those that highlight the black experience. She said, “Thankfully, I never had those types of experiences in my graduate program, but if I had, I am stubborn– I am going to do what I want to do… what I am passionate about.”
The event was characterized by lively conversation, beautiful and deeply thought provoking art, and delicious food. If our readers are interested in seeing more of Hobbs work, visit her website: https://www.latoyamhobbs.com/
LaToya Hobbs Artist Statement
“As a painter and printmaker, I use representational figurative imagery to facilitate an ongoing dialog about the Black Female Body in hope of showcasing a more balanced perception of our womanhood that dismantles prevailing stereotypes. Most recently, my practice has shifted to incorporate the production of mixed media works that seamlessly marry traditional painting and relief printmaking techniques in a singular surface. These hybrid works, employ the use of pattern, color, and texture to provide a visceral experience that is both universal and specific. It is my expectation that through my work the universal themes of family, cultural identity and sisterhood, will speak to a diverse audience who has an appreciation for contemporary figurative work utilizing traditional printmaking, painting and drawing methodologies presented in a fresh light.”
