Contemplative Humor: Oil Paintings by Amanda Banker and Pat Hobaugh

Witness Pat Hobaugh's quest to explore and explode the traditional idea of the representational still life. Hobaugh's subjects examine the cultural indoctrination and development of early adolescent children via toy action figures and iconic packaged foods, serving as a window into the world of childhood mythos.

He wants his art not only to describe and document contemporary popular culture but also to comment on what’s going on—to examine people’s relationship with consumerism and explore generational differences in the expression of that relationship. 

Hobaugh wants the viewers to access the work first through humor—to embrace the playfulness of the paintings and then to connect with the paintings on a personal level.

Amanda's current group of paintings are all based in the theme of gods and goddesses.  Each of these characters stems from inanimate objects, animals, and abstract concepts.  While these images seem straight forward, they are actually an exploration of her own processes as an artist. Many of these pieces are transitionary from a realm of one thought to another.  The transition being Amanda's clear and obvious shift from well rounded animal characters in period dress, to ideas that involve texture, light, and the combination of opposites.  Each piece is a part of what she is currently, in this very moment, as a painter.