Fredericks & Freiser is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by Jocelyn Hobbie. Hobbie has been painting the female figure since the mid-90s with a more naturalistic style and a greater use of saturated color. This shows a uneasy relationship with realism, and firmly roots these striking paintings within the age of post abstraction.
Hobbie will be exhibiting paintings on canvas and papers he has made in the last few years for this exhibition. Hobbie’s formal style echoes divergent styles such as the expressive figuration of New Objectivity or the rich, layered patterns of Ukiyo–e. Neoclassical figures are depicted with lambent expressions and boldly printed clothing in vivid floral settings. Hobbie’s seamless, polished surfaces and dynamic compositions meld her subjects amid pictorial environments brimming with painterly precision. The canvases and works on paper have the elemental and thematic characteristics of portraiture, yet the artificiality of Hobbie’s crystalized women avert emotional specificity in favor of ambiguity. The atmosphere is mystical and sensual. Hobbie’s female subjects exist proudly with a nonchalance that synthesizes themes of abundance and beauty with an elegiac detachment from contemporary life.