THE FAMILY / Bev Hogue

 

Born in Canada's version of the deep south, BEV HOGUE found escape in illustration, creating a world that was not of this world. After national success as a graphic designer, her work went international in 1999, when a Montreal art patron invited her into the New Millennium volume bound for libraries of The Tate, Uffizi and Sorbonne, among other leading art institutes worldwide. In exhibitions from New York to Chicago, California to Chiang Mai, her blue portraits of women and wildlife would be a hit with collectors, including Lisa Marie Presley and Rachel McAdams. A fascination for Surrealism conspired with her Romanian roots to produce a dark, dreamy style. As a recognized member of the Lowbrow movement, she is comfortable mixing fashion and decor with fine art pursuits. The blend of products and paintings that she calls Blue or Nothing is a playful, unpredictable study of the female form that takes shape on large canvas paintings, on lamps and even bowling ball designs. Respect for creatures of all creed is evident in the odd beauty of "Night of the Living Deb" or the primal innocence of "Midnight Matinee" -- a signature piece from which she drew upon for an ACME pen. Though the work meditates on the blue motif, it's not so much about color as it is about conviction. It's living with a broken heart, not a broken spirit.