Artist Statement/ Exhibition History
I make mixed media paintings that explore bodily memory through abstracted self-portraits of the female figure. Self-portraiture gives me complete access to the body I’m representing and allows me agency over how my body is presented. To start my paintings, I reference photographs I take of myself. I paint directly on canvas over multiple sessions and build layers of color and texture to create unexpected conversations between paint and remembered sensations of physical touch- expressing through painting what it feels like to exist in my body. I use a brush to draw the figure, and once I’m satisfied with the structure of the body, I begin to paint freely all-over the canvas. My experience of creating abstract paintings combined with the practice of drawing models from life gives me the foundation to build, and then abstract, a figure with confidence. Thin paint allowed to drip invites the material to disrupt and transfigure my mark-making, bridging the space between figure and the canvas’s ground. Smoothly blended oil paint depicts the soft form of my female body, while abruptly drawn marks made with an oil stick depict muscular tension and energy around the figure. Pure colors next to neutralized mixes develop moods. For example, gradations of cool blue invoke the feeling of calm introspection, while bold red oranges next to deep black pigment can create feelings of anxiety. Previous paint layers impact the final surface, and later coats are washed away to reveal earlier marks. By creating situations where I can allow spontaneity in the painting process, I become a collaborator with my materials to build the artwork. I am a conduit to make paintings that want to be made. I use this process to build self-knowledge by being present with my body in a way that has not felt safe before.
This series of work reconnects me with my body, which I have felt disconnected from due to traumatic experiences. Memories can be stored in the body and reignited in visceral ways that are separate from memories kept in the brain. The dichotomy of traumatic memory is that memories can appear both as an image of a single moment frozen in time, and as moments superimposed and disintegrated: unable to be placed within linear time or rational experience. My paintings of layered bodies and colors seek to reconcile memories from my mind and body simultaneously with the present moment, promoting the phenomenon of post-traumatic growth. The result is a painting that explores my somatic experiences through expressions recorded in paint.
Grace Hoag, digital photograph, Tristan Mark, 2019
Exhibition History
2025
Somatic Memory, Solo Exhibition, October, Petrichor Collective, 131 E Lincoln Ave, Fort Collins, Colorado
Artist in Residence, Invitational residency program, July- September, Wolverine Farm Publick House, 316 Willow St, Fort Collins
Roots and Routes, Juried, Ruyle Gallery, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Embodied, Artist and Curator, Museum of Art Fort Collins
Harmony Library Showcase, Invitational, 4616 S Shields St, Fort Collins
The Art of Living, Invitational, Sotheby’s International Realty, 224 Canyon Ave, Fort Collins
4th Annual Figure Exhibition, Invitational, The Merchant Room Gallery, 222 Walnut St, Fort Collins
2nd Annual Art Gala, Invitational, Front Range Community College, Fort Collins
31st Annual Cup Exhibition & Sale, NCECA ‘Formation’ conference, Salt Lake City, Utah
2024
Holiday Sale, Guest Artist, Smokestack Pottery, Fort Collins
Summer Art Market, Juried, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
45th Annual Greeley Arts Picnic, Juried Arts Festival, Lincoln Park, Greeley
Artist Sketchbook Workshop, Front Range Community College TRIO program, Westminster
BlackBox Art Collective, Invitational, 929 15th St, Greeley
The Starry Night Art Gala, Invitational, Front Range Community College, Fort Collins
2023
Holiday Sale, Guest Artist, Smokestack Pottery, Fort Collins
Meet Grace Hoag, Magazine Interview, Canvas Rebel, link
Prismatic, Juried, The Dairy Arts Center, Boulder
2022
Holiday Sale, Guest Artist, Smokestack Pottery, Fort Collins
Back2School, Invitational, Friend of a Friend Gallery, Denver
Anxious Nation, Documentary, Directed by Laura Morten and Vanessa Roth
2021
In Absentia, Artist-in-Residence, Art Gym Denver Gallery, Denver
2020
The Future of Now: Contemporary Art in Our Unsustainable World, Juried, Emmanuel Art Gallery, University of Colorado Denver
Pen Pal, Invitational, Stone House Art Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina
Zen Garden, Invitational, Madison and Main Gallery, Greeley
Mirror, Mirror, Invitational, Mari Michener Library, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
Annual Student Exhibition, Juried, Campus Commons Gallery, University of Northern Colorado
Seasons, Juried, Lafayette Public Library, Lafayette, Colorado
2019
Catharsis In Color, Artist and Curator, Juried Two-Person Exhibition with Jules Black, Mariani Gallery, University of Northern Colorado
The Sum of Our Hearts, Artist and Curator, Juried, Oak Room Gallery, University of Northern Colorado
Annual Student Exhibition, Juried, Campus Commons Gallery, University of Northern Colorado
Working Artist Project, Invitational, Mariani Gallery, University of Northern Colorado
No, a Fence, Invitational, Chain-Link Fence, University of Northern Colorado
Annual Student Exhibition, Juried, Mariani Gallery, University of Northern Colorado
2018
Art Walk, Green Earth Brewing Company, Greeley, Colorado
Student Juried Exhibition, University of Northern Colorado Gala, Tointon Gallery, Union Colony Civic Center, Greeley
Contemporary Blues, DoubleTree Hotel, Greeley
2016
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Selected Showcase, Juried, Denver Art Museum
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Juried, Colorado History Center, Denver
An Artistic Discovery: Congressional Art Competition, Juried, Outnumbered Gallery, Littleton