LYNNE HOBAICA

Lynne Hobaica’s work is influenced by, she says, her love of medieval art, her delight in Grimms’ Fairy Tales, her Catholic upbringing, and the world of Catholic art. Her objects may have fantastical scenes of a person riding a narwhal, a firebreathing horse, or hybrid creatures with scales and fins and four legs. Their facial expressions tend toward the skeptical or the slightly concerned—but unapologetic—as if to say they, too, find this world we live in a bit strange, odd, and even uncanny.

It is easy to be charmed by Hobaica’s work for the touches of what feel like whimsy, for the moments of wonder, and for the persistent feeling of animation. Hers is a world in motion, of beings traveling through space or contemplating the otherworldly nature of everyday living. Flowers in pots may have frowning faces or four eyes. A quilted figure may be an everyday juggler, but the scene also suggests a magician with upturned arms glorying in their esoteric spell of levitation.

There’s a duality and a search for equilibrium in Hobaica’s practice. She shares, “I make my work with a lot of heavy thoughts. Oftentimes, it’s as if it’s all driven by this sense that we are all going to die eventually. I think I can lighten that sense by using imaginary or fairy-tale imagery along with semi-cute colors. I’m thinking a lot about our temporary existence, but also I am trying to be playful and joyful about it. My sister passed away when I was eighteen and she was twenty. It’s always made me think about how important it is to just live every day with joy and with purpose—especially to embrace the people around you because you never know what could happen. I’m constantly trying to balance those two: the dark and the light.”

Hobaica reflects on her work with various mediums, including quilting, glass, and clay, and how she comes back to it. “I feel so close to [clay]. It’s almost like a sibling in a way: You’re too close and sometimes you love it and sometimes you hate it. I think if I didn’t have it, I would miss it. I’m always really interested in playing with more materials and learning new materials all the time. So that keeps me interested in clay. One thing that I always say about clay is that it’s the language I speak best, probably even better than English. I lean on that when I want to make a sculpture and there’s something that I feel I can say best with ceramics.”

The clay pieces Hobaica makes grant viewers permission to embrace exuberance in the face of mortality. Her art offers opportunities for curiosity and an awakening to the pleasures of being alive to see her inventions looking back at us, looking at something beyond us.