City by Night

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I have only ever bought three paintings in my life;
two of them are by Jean Hobson
-
Alan Bleasdale

Currently exhibiting at :
Contemporary Six - The Gallery  37 Princess Street, Manchester, M2 4FN


Next exhibition:

Manchester and Salford (working title)

Central library, Manchester ( Solo show Oct - Dec 2022)

Originally from Wallasey, Cheshire, Jean graduated at Liverpool College of Art, before moving to Scarborough in 1972. There she taught and then ran a small hotel – The Flower in Hand- while raising her two daughters. She became renowned as a vegetarian chef, played accordion with a blues band and opened her first studio.

In 1992 she relocated to Glossop, opening a studio and exhibiting both in Britain and abroad.

Present work: MANCHESTER/ SALFORD 

For the past fifteen years through her drawings, prints and paintings Jean has created a sensitive record and study of the changes taking place in Manchester and Salford, of the shifting patchwork of post-industrial obsolete and out dated living quarters as they have given way to new builds, new districts and new developments.                                                             Although she is sad to see the demolition of some fine old buildings and the changing life patterns, Jean’s work does not come across as anti- development or sentimental, but rather as keen observations of the progress and life of a city embracing the new changes as they take place.

When asked about her work Jean said ‘Manchester and Salford are constantly developing, with the skyline changing almost daily. It is the contrast between the past, present and future that catches my imagination, and I hope the work remains as the late George Melly once said of it:‘ both realistic and poetic, sometimes a little sinister, but most often, without patronising,  encapsulating the pleasure and vitality of the North’



Past work includes:

WOMEN a series of observations painted in watercolour on how women perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others.

FLOWERS a series painted in watercolour influenced by the illustrations from The Garden at Eichstatt.

SEASIDE a series painted over two decades of Scarborough’s wonderful scenery.