LATOYA M HOBBS WOODCUTS
DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD
Latoya Hobbs – Woodcuts, represents a chance to view her amazing work. This exhibition spanning ten years of her work brings to light the true brilliance of her understanding of the woodcut. Historically one of the most beloved mediums of the artworld, the woodcut, can evoke many ideas and emotions from the stripping away at a block of wood and the application of the inks that ultimately lead to an image. With the technical part of the woodcut mastered, it is the artist’s life influences that can give us glimpses into ideas like beauty, motherhood, and cultural identity. Hobbs work allows the viewer a glimpse of understanding the world in new and critical ways.
Printmaking of all forms is one of the Art Department’s fundamental areas of educating artists. Having exceptional exhibitions of printmaking in our galleries helps to generate meaningful discussions and lifelong learning about the art of printmaking. The University Art Gallery’s programing helps to support our faculty’s teaching. It is through faculty recommendations that many exhibitions come to our galleries. This exhibition was recommended by my colleague Martin Azevedo and I am very happy to be able to exhibit Latoya’s work for others to enjoy.
I would like to thank the many colleagues that have been instrumental in presenting this exhibition. Latoya Hobbs for the chance of exhibiting her amazing work, Martin Azevedo for recommending Latoya’s exhibition, Brad Peatross of the School of the Arts, California State University, Stanislaus for the catalog design and Parks Printing for the printing this catalog.
I would also like to extend many thanks to the Instructionally Related Activates Program of California State University, Stanislaus, as well as anonymous donors for the funding of the exhibition and catalogue. Their support is greatly appreciated.
Dean De Cocker, Director University Art Gallery California State University, Stanislaus
LATOYA M HOBBS
LaToya M. Hobbs is an artist, wife, and mother of two from Little Rock, AR, who is currently living and working in Baltimore, MD. She received her B.A. in Painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and M.F.A. in Printmaking from Purdue University. Her work deals with figurative imagery that addresses the ideas of beauty, cultural identity, and womanhood as they relate to women of the African Diaspora. Her exhibition record includes numerous national and international venues, including the National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia; SCAD Museum of Art; Albright Knox Museum, and Sophia Wanamaker Galleries in San Jose, Costa Rica, among others. Her work is housed in private and public collections such as the Harvard Art Museum, Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, the National Art Gallery of Namibia, the Getty Research Institute, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Other accomplishments include the 2020 Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize, a nomination for the 2022 Queen Sonja Print Award and a 2022 IFPDA Artist Grant. Hobbs is also a Professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Woodcuts is a selection of works on paper produced by LaToya M. Hobbs.
Spanning over a decade, the portraits and figurative works in this exhibition chronicle the evolution of Hobbs’ practice and her mastery of the medium. Taking inspiration from printmakers such as Elizabeth Catlett, Margarette T. Burroughs and Käthe Kollwitz her bold prints radiate the artist’s love of the figure, texture and pattern.
The poised imagery created from the likenesses of Hobbs’ subjects, many of whom are family and friends, facilitates a more wholistic perception of their womanhood and multifaceted existences. For Hobbs, the physical act of cutting away from the woodblock matrix to form an image is a process of excavation. It is symbolic of the cutting away of internalized negative ideologies and societal expectations. Exploring the themes of motherhood, sistership, beauty and spirituality through the lens of her lived experience as a Black woman, Hobbs’ arresting works elicit a visceral experience that is both universal and specific.
Opposite: Lunar Queen, lino cut, 20” x 16”, 2011
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Crystal, woodcut, 41¾” x 32”, 2012
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Self Portrait 2, woodcut, 44” x 28”, 2012
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Herero Woman, lino cut, 14” x 18”, 2015
Opposite: Nzingalisa, woodcut, 40” x 32”, 2018
Delita Study #1 woodcut, 18” x 24”, 2021
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Lunar Blessing, woodcut, 60” x 40”, 2017
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Self- Portrait 3, woodcut , 48” x 32”, 2018
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Nina 3, woodcut and collage on paper, 20” x 16”, 2019, Varied Edition: 3
Opposite: Rose, woodcut, 20” x 16”, 2019
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Toni, woodcut, 20” x 16”, 2019
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Aria, woodcut, 20” x 16”, 2019
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Sharbreon’s Joy, woodcut, 20” x 16”, 2019
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Crowned, woodcut, 18” x 24”, 2021
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Right: Erin Study, woodcut, 20” x 16”, 2022
Next Pages: Transition: Double Self Portrait (yellow), 45” x 60”, 2011
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Shay V, woodcut relief print, 49” x 32”, 2011 t
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Soloange, woodcut relief print, 44 ¾” x 28”, 2011
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Kelli R. (multicolor), woodcut, 45” x 28”, 2012
Opposite:
Clarice II, woodcut relief print, 44 ¾” x 28”, 2011
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Stargazer (Theo), woodcut, 24” x 18”, 2022
LATOYA M HOBBS CV
EDUCATION
2013 MFA, Studio Art: Printmaking, Painting, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
2009 BA, Studio Art: Painting, , University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS, 2020-PRESENT
Solo
2023 Flourish, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA
LaToya M. Hobbs: Woodcuts, California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA
2022 Sistership: LaToya M. Hobbs, IFPDA Print Fair Special Project, Javits Center, New York, NY
2020 Janet and Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize Finalist Exhibition, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (online)
Invitational
2023 Together, Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, Little Rock, AR
2022 The Power of Portraiture: Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
These are a Few of My Favorite Things, Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Arrangements in Black, Phillips Auction, New York, NY
In These Truths, Albright Knox Museum, Northland Campus, Buffalo, NY
What the Mirror Said: Black Women of Print, St Lawrence University, Canton, NY
A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking, Claire Oliver Gallery, Harlem, NY
2021 Face to Face, 193 Gallery, Paris, France
All Due Respect, Baltimore Museum of Art
Elizabeth Catlett: Points of Contact, SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
A Contemporary Black Matriarchal Lineage in Printmaking, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, MN
The Sitter, Blue Star Contemporary, San Antonio TX
Embodied, Knowhere Art Gallery, Oak Bluffs, MA
Black Histories, Black Futures, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
No Mans Land, Windgate Museum of Art, Conway, AR
She Persisted, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
Unraveled. Restructured. Revealed., Trout Museum of Art, Appleton WI
Last Supper, LatchKey Gallery, New York, NY
Truth Be Told, Urban Zen Gallery, New York, NY.
2020 Voices, Studio 525, New York, NY
Women X Women: Selections from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Ronald K. DeLong Gallery, Penn State Univ. State College, PA
FOREFRONT 2020, Cynthia Reeves Gallery, North Adams, MA
SOUL: Melanated Life in Print, Print Austin, Link & Pin Gallery, Austin TX
HONORS, AWARDS, AND GRANTS
2022 Finalist, Queen Sonja Print Award
IFPDA Artist Grant
2021 Harpo Foundation Grant
Sustainable Arts Foundation Award
2020 Winner, Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize.
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SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Harvard Art Museum
Rockefeller Foundation
Public Welfare Foundation
David C. Driskell Center Permanent Collection
Baltimore Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Figge Art Museum
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Austin Peay State University
University of Maryland Global Campus Art Program
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of Africa American Art
Milwaukee Art Museum
Getty Research Institute
Smith College Museum of Art
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Collections
National Art Gallery of Namibia
Centuro Cultural Costarricense Norte Americano San Jose, Costa Rica
Hillard Art Museum Print Collection University of Louisiana
Purdue University Black Cultural Center
Creativity Arkansas Art Collection, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences
RESIDENCIES
2023 Penland School of Craft Distinguished Fellowship Residency, Penland, NC
Women’s Studio Workshop Studio Residency Grant, Rosendale, NY
Joan Mitchel Center Artist in Residence Program, New Orleans, LA
BIBLIOGRAPHY/CATALOGS
2022 Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021, Edited by Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe, published by Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art. p XIIII, 124-125
“The Portraiture of LaToya M. Hobbs”, Sean Clancy, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Style Section, p E and E4, Nov. 27, 2022
“LaToya M. Hobbs Monumentalizes Black Women in Her Epic Portraits”, Meredith Mendelsohn, Introspective Magazine (Online), Oct. 23, 2022
“Prints Make Themselves Seen (and Heard) Again”, Laurel Graeber, New York Times (Online) Oct. 21, 2022
“Black Women of Print’s LaToya Hobbs in the Spotlight at IFPDA Print Fair”, Abby Shultz, Barron’s Penta (Online) Sept. 2, 2022
“Artist Interview: LaToya Hobbs” by Adam Finkelston, The Hand Magazine, Issue 37, August 2022, p 10-16
“Milk Hour: Interview with LaToya Hobbs” by Lee Nowell-Wilson, Milked Magazine: The Interior, Issue 4 Spring 2022
Art For Everyone: Chemeketa Community college Art Faculty (text book), Deanne Beausoleil, Laura mack, Heidi Preuss Grew, and Kay B. Boehmer, Oxford University Press 2022, p 129
“Five to Watch”, Allison Malafronte, Fine Art Connoisseur, Vol. 19, Issue 3, p 64.
“Respect Where Its Due”, Exhibition review by Rebekah Kirkman, Bmore Art Online, January 24, 2022
2021 New American Paintings, No. 148, p72-75
Artists of Maryland: Visual Arts, Yumi Hogan, p13
2020 “What to Expect from 2020’s Big Art Prize Winners: MICA Professors: Susan Eller & LaToya Hobbs”, Article by Mary Carole McCauly, Baltimore, Sun, September 18, 2020.
“New York City’s Most Powerful Exhibition on Black Voices”, Art She Says (online) August 27, 2020.
“How Artscape Prize Winner LaToya M. Hobbs Forged Her Own Path Into Fine Arts”, Article by Oyin Adedoyin, Baltimore Magazine (online), August 6, 2020
“The 2020 Sondheim prize Finalists: Limitations and strategies for art prizes and digital exhibitions during a global pandemic”, Article by Cara Ober, Bmore Art (online), July 24, 2020
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS
Dr. Ellen Junn, President
Dr. Kimberly Greer, Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs
Dr. James A. Tuedio, Dean, College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
DEPARTMENT OF ART
Martin Azevedo, Associate Professor, Chair
Tricia Cooper, Lecturer
Dean De Cocker, Professor
James Deitz, Lecturer
Daniel Edwards, Associate Professor
Jessica Gomula-Kruzic, Professor
Dr. Alice Heeren, Assistant Professor
Daniel Heskamp, Lecturer
Chad Hunter, Lecturer
Dr. Carmen Robbin, Professor
Ellen Roehne, Lecturer
Dr. Staci Scheiwiller, Associate Professor
Susan Stephenson, Associate Professor
Jake Weigel, Associate Professor
Mirabel Wigon, Assistant Professor
Alex Quinones Instructional Tech II
Kyle Rambatt, Equipment Technician II
UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES
Dean De Cocker, Director
Kory Twaddle, Gallery Assistant
SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Brad Peatross, Graphic Specialist II
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LaToya M Hobbs - Woodcuts February 9–March 16, 2023 | University Art Gallery, California State University, Stanislaus 100 copies printed. Copyright © 2023 California State University, Stanislaus • ISBN 978-1-940753-74-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. This exhibition and catalog have been funded by Associated Students Instructionally Related Activities, California State University, Stanislaus.
