104 http://www.AmericanArtCollector.com
UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / CANYON ROAD CONTEMPORARY ART
8/9-8/18 Santa Fe, NME
lements of pop culture come to life with witty,
often humorous commentary laced within the
playful paintings of Pat Hobaugh. Still lifes of objects
present throughout American pop cultural history—
action figures, cartoon characters, real-life icons—are
juxtaposed in his paintings in ways that are both
enigmatic and thought-provoking. A tiny figure of
Homer Simpson holding the famed pink sprinkled
doughnut stands next to a tower of doughnuts with
Buddha perched at the top in Nirvana with Sprinkles.
In another painting, Pop Art, an action figure version
of Andy Warhol sits in an eight-pack of Pepsi with pop
art illustration adorning the front of the pack.
“I always want to make work that you need to think
about,” says Hobaugh. “There’s the first read, which is
humorous, or the viewer may be drawn to the realism.Then there’s a layer of how my still lifes relate to the
history of the genre, and our relationship to pop culture.
Finally, there’s the layer of meaning, which is the concept
behind that particular painting. All of this is meant to
create more questions than answers for the viewer, so
that they can really spend time with the work.”
Hobaugh’s first solo exhibition with Canyon Road
Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, runs
August 9 to 18. Titled Counter Culture: Still Lifes of
Americana, the show will have an opening reception
on the first night from 5 to 7 p.m.
“The work for this upcoming show is a continuation
of what I’ve been doing, but I like to react to current
events and trends, so there will be some of that included.
For example, the recent closing of Toys R Us and the
upcoming presidential primaries,” says Hobaugh.PAT HOBAUGHCounter Culture
1
Two Four One, acrylic
and oil on panel,
18 x 24"
2
Pop Art, acrylic and oil
on panel, 40 x 30"
3
Nirvana with Sprinkles,
acrylic and oil on panel,
24 x 24"
4
Super Blues, acrylic and
oil on panel, 20 x 16"1