Lisa Hoke’s work, for many decades, has operated in the area between discrete object and installation. Her materials have always been the overlooked ephemera of our daily lives. The earliest sculptures consisted of wire and cast iron fruit and vegetables, addressing issues of gravity, tension and balance. Thereafter, seeking means of combining light, color and scale, she used myriad multiples, such as: napkins, zippers, buttons, thread, clothes, shower curtains, drinking straws, rubber bands and paper. Since 2004, her focus has been on large-scale mural installations, intentionally highlighting the indigenous color and nature of all manner of disposable materials. Most recently, she has merged found cardboard packaging with felt, wire, textiles and wood. She has expanded the color and forms into a hyper cacophony of image, squeezing the air out of the internal space, perhaps, reflective of life during a pandemic.
Hoke received a BA from The University of NC at Greensboro and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, VA. She has been awarded a Purchase Award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, NY; a Joan Mitchell Grant; The Edwin Austin Abbey Fellowship from The National Academy of Design, NY; and a Secca Award in the Visual Arts, NC. Recently, Hoke was commissioned by Nuova Lavazza, to create a permanent installation in Turin, Italy. Hoke lives and works in New York City.
