This carved forest sentinel stands watch over the mist shrouded woods, glowing with ancient light 💚
#TribalFantasy #MythicWarrior #CarvedArt

Baltimore-based American artist LaToya Hobbs carves stylized woodblocks of Black women with a perspective that rest is a fundamental human right. Hobbs described her professional focus on rest and relaxation as “The act of carving and its removal of material carries symbolic meaning related to the carving away of negativity and stereotypes needed to reveal the real version of oneself.” In “Erin and Anyah with Hydrangeas,” Hobbs’ young stepdaughter and niece, look directly at us with calm expressions of confidence and hope. Their bodies intertwined in a tender embrace, one rests her head on the other’s shoulder, set against a backdrop of stylized puffy white flowers and foliage decorating a pinstriped backdrop. The positioning and arrangement emphasize the closeness and shared connection between the two young Black women with gold color accents for their braided hair, necklaces, earrings, and bracelet. It’s a personal moment taken from an original photograph by the artist’s husband Ariston Jacks giving us a sense of the cousin’s closeness and empathy. Often using her family, friends, and even herself as subjects, Hobbs creates densely textured prints and paintings depicting quiet moments of affection and connection. Gouged with impeccably thin lines and delicate crosshatching, Hobbs’ works evidence the artist’s laborious process and profound admiration for the tactile, in both the tangible, ridged properties of her carvings and the connections elicited by human touch. She received her B.A. in Painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and M.F.A. in Printmaking from Purdue University. As we see in this beautiful piece, 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.

“Erin and Anyah with Hydrangeas” by LaToya Hobbs (American) - Acrylic and collage on carved wood panel / 2023 - Frist Art Museum (Nashville, Tennessee) #WomenInArt #Art #WomanArtist #WomensArt #WomenArtists #AfricanAmericanArtist #BlackArtist #FemaleArtist #FristArtMuseum #LaToyaHobbs #CarvedArt