Ania Hobson (b.1990, UK)

The history of women as muses and objects of contemplation, depicted and shaped by the male gaze, goes back as far as the history of painting itself. Ania Hobson's paintings counteract this narrative of a passive, lost and uncertain woman that is still reproduced today and oppose the obsolete stereotype with powerful expressions of ferocity, independence and self-determination.

Her figures exude a beauty rooted not in their aesthetic appearance but in their untouchable presence, in their postures and – above all – in their strong facial expressions that are at the center of the evolving narrative. Hobson captures moments from social situations where – for a short while – our faces say much more than we realize. The scenarios evoke a certain familiarity and could arise from our own subconscious memories, from dreams or everyday observations.