Frank Hobbs is a painter, printmaker and draftsman. Since 2007 he has been Professor of Art at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, where he teaches painting and drawing. From 2006-2007 he was Visiting Artist at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Hobbs was born in Lynchburg, VA. He studied art at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, and later at American University in Washington, DC, where he earned his M.F.A in 1984. He lived and had a studio in Staunton, VA for 15 years, teaching at Washington and Lee University from 1987 until 2004, and for 11 years at the Beverley Street Studio School in Staunton, which he co-founded in 1992.

Hobbs is a recipient of fellowships and grants by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. In 2015 he received an Individual Excellence in the Arts Award from the Ohio Arts Council. His work has been shown in the American Embassies of Ankara, Turkey, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Bermuda, and is included in numerous corporate and private collections in America and abroad.

Education

1984
M.F.A. in Painting, American University, Washington, D.C.

1980
B.A. in Art, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, Virginia

1981
Mountain Lake Painting Workshops with Wayne Thiebaud and Susan Shatter

Select Solo Exhibitions
2017
New Work, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA

2015
Grove City Council Gallery, Grove City, OH
Staunton/Augusta Art Center, Staunton, VA
City Art Center, Delaware, OH
Gallery 22, Delaware County Cultural Arts Center, Delaware, OH

2014
From Italy: Rosellina Avoscan, Frank Hobbs, Joseph Lombardo, Art Access Gallery, Columbus, OH
University of South Carolina, Aiken, SC
Paintings & Monotypes, Washington & Lee University, McCarthy Gallery, Williams School of Economics, Politics, and Government, Lexington, VA

2010
Cortona Palcoscenico, Galeria Sottoscala, Cortona, Italy

2009
Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA
Callen McJunkin Gallery, Charleston, WV

2008
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2006
Virginia Landscapes, Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA

2005
Recent Paintings, Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2004
Washington & Lee University, Williams School of Commerce Gallery, Lexington, VA
Red Brook Gallery, Washington, DC
Reynolds Gallery, Richmond Scenes, Richmond, VA

2003
Armory Art Gallery, Virginia Polytechnic Institue & State University, Blacksburg, VA
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, New Work. Charlotte, NC

2002
Callen McJunkin Gallery, Charleston, WV
Warm Springs Gallery, Paintings from the Cowpasture River, Warm Springs, VA

2001
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Recent Paintings and Monotypes, College of Southern Maryland, La Plata, MD

2000
Narratives of Change: From Rural to Urban, Danville Museum of Art and History, Danville, VA
Washington & Lee University, Williams Commerce School Gallery, Lexington, VA
Frank Hobbs: Urban Views, Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA

1999
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC

1998
Paintings From the Cowpasture River and Other Backyards, Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA
Works From the Figure, 1984-1998, Washington & Lee University, Commerce School Gallery, Lexington, VA
Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, Dillard Gallery, Lynchburg, VA

1997
Washington & Lee University, Dupont Gallery, Lexington, VA

1996
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC

1994
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Staunton-Augusta Art Center, Staunton, VA

1993
Victor Huggins Gallery, Roanoke, VA

1992
National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD
Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro, VA

1991
Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, VA

1990
Washington Studio School Gallery, Washington, DC

1989
Washington Studio School, Washington, DC

1987
North Cross School, Roanoke, VA

1986
Washington Studio School Gallery, Washington, DC

1985
Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA

1981
Block Prints Gallery, Blacksburg, VA

Select Group Exhibitions

2014
Michael Hartwig, Frank Hobbs, Christopher Stott, Art Essex Gallery, Essex, CT
The American Landscape. Juried exhibition, Beverley Street Studio School / Staunton-Augusta Art Center, Staunton, VA. Juror: Stephen Doherty, editor American Artist and Plein Air magazines.
Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA

2013
Art Faculty Biennial Exhibition, Ross Art Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware,OH
Group Show: Landscapes, Art Access Gallery, Columbus, OH

2012
Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA
Virginia Landscape Today, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA

2011
Nature and the Non-Objective Region, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
Into the Mountains, Frederick Nichols Gallery, Barboursville, VA
Virginia Landscapes on Paper, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA
Art Access Gallery, Columbus, OH
Mixed Messages, Ross Art Museum, Delaware, OH
Printmakers, Nichols Gallery, Barboursville, VA

2010
10th Anniversary Exhibition, Art Access Gallery, Columbus, OH
Art Access Gallery, Columbus, OH
Reynolds Gallery, Richmond, VA

2007
Art Faculty Exhibition, Ross Art Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH

2006
Art Faculty Group Exhibition, Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME

2004
George Nick Selects, Concord Art Association, Concord, MA. Curator: George Nick, Prof. Emeritus, Massachusetts College of Art
Within Our Borders: Virginia Landscapes, Hermitage Foundation, Norfolk, VA
Images of the South, Nichols Gallery, Barboursville, VA

2003
Kathe Kollwitz and Contemporary Virginia Printmakers, Courthouse Gallery, Portsmouth Museum, Portsmouth, VA
30 Years of New Art at Second Street Gallery, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA

2002
Plein-air Revisited, Andrews Gallery, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

2001
Reconstructing Eden: The Contemporary Landscape, Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC.
George Nick Selects: Paintings by Artists From Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Washington, DC.  Concord Art Association, Concord, MA. Curator: George Nick, Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts College of Art
Nichols Gallery, Barboursville, VA

2000
The Virginia Landscape: A Cultural History. Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, VA. William Rasmussen, Dr. James Kelly, curators.
Group exhibition of the Beverley Street Studio School Italy Program, Cappella Sant’Anna, Perugia, Italy
Faculty exhibition of Washington & Lee University, Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA

1999
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Moving Into the Millenium: Darkness, Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Foreign Influence, Callen McJunkin Gallery, Charleston, WV
Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA
Still-life, Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC
Mathews and Shanks Gallery, Shepherdstown, WV

1998
The Landscape: Works on Canvas and Paper, Elon College, NC. Curated by Joseph Rowand, Director Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC
Moving Into the Millenium: Light, Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Group exhibition of the Beverley Street Studio School Italy Program, Cappella Sant’Anna, Perugia, Italy
Contemporary American Printmaking, Staunton-Augusta Art Center, Staunton, VA

1997
Hodges-Taylor Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Summer Solstice Exhibition, Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA

1996
Summer Solstice Exhibition, Les Yeux du Monde Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Contemporary Realism, Gallery Alexy, Philadelphia, PA. Juror: Sidney Goodman, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
Small Figurative Works, The Armory Art Center, Palm Beach, FL. Juror: Bruce Helander, Director, Helander Galleries, NY and Palm Beach, FL
Select ‘96, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA. Juror: Wretha Hanson, Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, DC

1995
Virginia Realism, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA. Curated by Hearne Pardee
Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynchburg, VA
Six From Virginia: Ron Boehmer, Richard Crozier, Phillip Geiger, Frank Hobbs, Ryan Russell, Robert Stuart, The Frame Gallery, Staunton, VA
Gallery Artists, Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC

1994
Ron Boehmer and Frank Hobbs, Washington Studio School Gallery, Washington, DC.

1993
Monotypes: William Barnes, Frank Hobbs, and Martin Kotler, Reynolds Gallery,Richmond, VA.

1992
Tim Ford and Frank Hobbs, Peden Gallery, Raleigh, NC.
Monotypes, Veerhoff Gallery, Washington, DC.

1991
Fifth Clemson National Print and Drawing Exhibition, Clemson University, Clemson, SC. Juror: Ned Rifkin, Chief Curator of Exhibitions, Hirschhorn Museum of American Art, Washington, DC
Realism ‘91, Parkersburg, WVA.
Frank Hobbs, Monotypes and Robert Stuart, Paintings, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA

1990
Recent American Works on Paper, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA.
The Printed Image, Graham-Horstman Gallery, Denton, TX.

1988
New Landscapes: Frank Hobbs, Starr Kopper, and Robert Stuart, Washington Studio School, Washington, DC.

1987
Frank Hobbs, Joseph Kossow, and Susan Yanero, College of William and Mary,Williamsburg, VA.

1986
Art South ‘86, Memphis State University, Memphis, TN. Juror: William Olander, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City, NY
Contemporary Still-Life Painting, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

1984
Frank Hobbs and David Holt, Twentieth Century Gallery, Williamsburg, VA
Juried Exhibition 1984, Peninsula Fine Art Center, Newport News, VA. Juror: Dr. Harry Rand, Curator of Painting, National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC

1983
Washington Painters, Lynchburg College, Dillard Gallery, Lynchburg, VA.

1981
Virginia Independent Visual Artists, VIVA Gallery, Roanoke, VA.

Select Collections

Suntrust Bank, Richmond, VA.
Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, VA.
Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA.
Ukrops Incorporated, Richmond, VA.
Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
The Kossow Corporation, Longboat Key, FL.
University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, VA.
The Virginia Bar Association, Richmond, VA.
Augusta Medical Center, Fishersville, VA.
Carolina Telephone, Raleigh, NC.
The American City Business Journal, Charlotte, NC
Olga Faison Interiors, Charlotte, NC
Capital One, Richmond, VA
Westminster Canterbury, Richmond, VA
Markel Corporation, Richmond, VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA.
The Homestead, Hot Springs, VA.
Dominion Bank, Roanoke, VA.
Coopers and Lybrand, Accountants, Richmond, VA.
Hunton-Williams, Attorneys, Richmond, VA.
CSX Corporation, Washington, DC.
Owens-Illinois, Big Island, VA.
Bank of America, Charlotte, NC. and Harrisonburg, VA.
Central Fidelity Bank (Formerly), Richmond, VA.
Phillip-Morris Inc,, Richmond, VA
Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Law Firm, Charlotte, NC.
Duke Capital Partners, First Citizens Bank, Charlotte, NC
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Attorneys, Charlotte, NC
Art Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA

Bibliography

2003
30 Years: Three Decades of New Art at Second Street Gallery. Mcleod, Deborah, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA. November 7, 2003 – February 1, 2004. Catalog.
Markel Corporate Art Collection. Risatti, Howard, Chairman, Department of Crafts, VCU, Richmond, VA. 2003. Catalog.

2000
Kelly, James and William Rasmussen. The Virginia Landscape: A Cultural History.
Virginia Historical Society, Howell Press, Charlottesville, VA. 2000. Catalog.
Proctor, Roy. “The Urban Landscapes of Frank Hobbs.” Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA. February 20, 2000.
Koplen, Cathy. “Art Exhibit Showcases Changing Landscape.” Danville Register, Danville, VA. September 17, 2000.

1996
“Ron Boehmer and Frank Hobbs, Exhibition Review at Washington Studio School,” Washington Post, 1996.

1995
Pardee, Hearne. Contemporary Virginia Realism. Catalog, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA. March 1995.

1994
Jackson, Valarie. “Works by ‘Kindred Spirits, Frank Hobbs and Lee Newman.’” Lynchburg News and Daily Advance, Lynchburg, VA. February 28, 1994.

1993
Appelhof, Ruth Stevens (Director, Art Museum of Western Virginia). “Seeking Creative Order.” President’s Collection of the Virginia State Bar Association, Richmond, VA

1992
Bullard, CeCe. “Poetry in Works at Reynolds. Monotypes of William Barnes, Frank Hobbs, Martin Kotler.” Richmond Times-Dispatch. April, 1992.

Awards and Honors

2006
Fellowship Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, VA

2003-8
Art in the Embassies Program, American Embassies in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Ankara, Turkey; and Bermuda

2003
Fellowship Residency, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont

2000
Fellowship in Painting, Virginia Commission for the Arts

1996
Fellowship for Works On Paper, National Endowment for the Arts / Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation

1982
Fellowship, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

Teaching Experience

2007- present
Ohio Wesleyan University, Assistant Professor of Art, Delaware, OH

2006-07
Colby College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Waterville, ME.

2006
Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA. Visiting Artist, April

2005
St. Christopher’s Boys School, Richmond, VA. Visiting Artist

2004
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. Assistant Professor of Art.

1991-04
Beverley Street Studio School, Staunton, VA. Founder, Trustee and Faculty Member

1996-2001
Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA. Instructor, 1996 – 2001.

1992-94
Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynchburg, VA. Assistant Professor of Art

1985-92
Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA. Assistant Professor of Art

1987
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA. Assistant Professor of Art,

The process of painting for me begins as a kind of soliloquy through which I work out my fascinations with the contemporary landscape and the connections that tie me to my own place in the world. I discover painting sites without seeking them. Often motifs are the serendipitous results of trips to the grocery store or other practical routines of daily life.

I paint on location, executing small, quick studies in which I attempt to respond to the transience of light and weather. The challenge is to distill the essential color, form, and space from the “blooming, buzzing confusion” of nature using only my eyes and the language of painting. Balancing these outdoor studies are longer meditations worked out on a larger scale in the studio from drawings, photographs, and experimentation at the palette. The two practices complement each other but are essentially self-sufficient activities. When working outdoors I rarely think of the studies as preparations for studio paintings. If anything the reverse is true. A long season of studio work often drives me outdoors to escape the inevitable ditches I drive myself into when the direct reference to nature has grown thin.

Divesting myself of limiting preconceptions is a necessary condition of painting from observation, and so the act of painting is not so much about the resulting commodity as it is a game of consciousness. Receptivity is my primary aim. The goal, ultimately, is to construct a living metaphor in color, shape, and mark for my experience of the concrete world. The thrill when the first crude likeness appears is still as fresh and exciting as it was when I first started painting.