LaToya M. Hobbs
In the (CFAC) exhibition 鈥淪alt of the Earth,鈥� hopes to spur a dialogue about the perception of Black womanhood. 鈥淚n thinking about women as 鈥榩reservers鈥� in service to others, I want to highlight the importance of self-preservation and examine how Black women engage in acts of self-care or the lack thereof,鈥� she says in her artist鈥檚 statement.
The exhibition, which feature 15 pieces in a variety of mediums, runs through Nov. 3. An opening reception and artist talk鈥攁 conversation between Hobbs and , assistant professor of African American Studies (AAS) in the College of Arts and Sciences鈥攚ill be 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at CFAC, 805 E. Genesee St.
鈥淭he pieces in the exhibition hum with energy and evoke dynamism and rhythm,鈥� says CFAC鈥檚 outgoing interim director Kal Alston. 鈥淭he work gives viewers an opportunity to meditate on the role, centrality, vitality and spirit of Black women at a personal, community and global level.鈥�
Alston is also associate dean of academic affairs and a professor of Cultural Foundations of Education at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 School of Education and an affiliated faculty member in Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies in A&S. She has served as CFAC interim director since October 2016. The center, founded in 1972, is a unit of AAS.
“Queen Wawa” Oil, Acrylic and Collage on Canvas 30鈥� X 24
鈥淪alt of the Earth鈥� is part of the Department of African American Studies Colloquium Series and was brought to CFAC by Gibson, an expert in 20th- and 21st-century African American literature and culture.
Hobbs, a native of North Little Rock, Arkansas, earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in studio art with an emphasis in painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an M.F.A. in printmaking from Purdue University. She is a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has appeared at numerous exhibitions, including at the Tulipamwe International Artists鈥� Exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia (Africa); Prizm Art Fair; Art Basel Miami and the National Wet Paint Exhibition in Chicago. Her work has been featured in Transition: An International Review, a publication of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
Another Hobbs solo exhibition, 鈥淪itting Pretty,鈥� is at Goucher College鈥檚 Rosenberg Gallery through Oct. 25. That show features 15 large-scale woodcut and mixed media monotype portraits that 鈥渃onfront European expectations of beauty and hairstyle with boldness, rebellion, self-con铿乨ence, and a spiritual consciousness.鈥�
Her CFAC exhibition aims toward 鈥渞edefining what motherhood looks like in the 21st century for Black women,鈥� Gibson says. The exhibition illustrates 鈥渢he continued resiliency and beauty of Black women in all of their many manifestations.鈥�
