Jocelyn Hobbie

Adventurers, 2010, oil on canvas, 18  x 18 in.

The Visit, 2008, oil on canvas, 19.5 x 19.5 in.

Daisy, 2010, oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in.

Toast Eater, 2008, oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in.

The Twins, 2007, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 in.

Rec Room, 2007, oil on canvas, 84 x 84 in.

Acadia, 2010, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in.

Mother and Daughter, 2010, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.

Pilgrim, 2010, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.

Entre Nous, 2010, oil on canvas, 72 x 72 in.

About The Artist

Jocelyn Hobbie’s lushly patterned, meticulously detailed paintings are looking glasses into the inner lives of her exclusively female subjects, depicting psychologically and sexually charged portraits of her imaginary cast of novelistic heroines. Hobbie’s jewel-toned compositions solicit the viewer to gaze upon exquisitely considered–and again exquisitely rendered–details of feminine allure: the fashion, the accessories, the make-up, the jewelry, the fabrics, the textures, the contemporary tattoos and other artificial charms.

But the female gaze is always turned away, distant in its own reverie. These unreturned glances deflecting ours to uncertain places, are pregnant with ambiguous ruminations, challenging the viewer to fill in these ellipses with his or her own narrative developments or explanations that are only suggested by Hobbie’s open-ended clues.

Although Hobbie’s compositions frequently conjure up generalized suggestions of an eclectic range of art historical inspirations–Balthus, Degas, Renoir, Hopper, Magritte, Otto Dix, and even Lucas Cranach come to mind–this uncanny feeling of déja vu is simultaneously destabilized by the artist’s assiduous commitment to devising all of the mise-en-scene herself: all of her heroines’ elaborate fashion details–including extremely stylish, idiosyncratically patterned outfits appointed with scarves, sashes, necklaces and other accessories–are all entirely of Hobbie’s invention. (Art Shows NY)

Jocelyn Hobbie at Bellwether Gallery