Hope Hickman
she/her
Akron, OH, USA
Hope Hickman is a queer multimedia artist, originally born in Northeast Ohio. Having studied mathematics in university, most of her artistic training has been self-taught. She did participate in informal mentorships in folk-art outside of Asheville, N.C. after dropping out of her graduate studies at Clemson University, S.C. Hence, her career began roughly in 2020 and over the past three years she has had the opportunity to focus on building her studios and finding her voice as an artist.
Hope's work has been featured locally in the greater Cleveland area including the Massillon Museum of Art, Ohio Regionalities and the Canton Museum of Arts, CMA Shop. It has most recently shown at the FAVA Gallery in Oberlin, Ohio for the OH Queer exhibition, Prismatic at Height Arts Gallery in Cleveland Heights, and Bazarbeque at Kink Contemporary in the Waterloo Arts District of Cleveland. Her work has been published in Doll House Mag of Columbus, Ohio and her jewelry is featured in multiple galleries both locally and nationally.
She is an emerging artist who shows tremendous potential within the expanded field of ceramics and is a "must watch" for 2024.
“Most recently, Hope’s sculptures and paintings investigate the mundane and the ironic, with particular attention to contemporary life within the American suburbs. Hope uses play and humor to tackle ideas like puritanical frugality and suburban ennui. Her upcoming body of work serves as a lens to view the cultural nuances of suburbia, middle class America, and the Midwest.
Her jewelry is an extension of her sculptural work, yet wearable, well-crafted and affordable. Her ceramic designs recycle antiquated motifs in metalsmithing, nostalgic iconography from her youth and the semiotics of girlhood. The work is ironically made of dirt and toilet paper (ceramic with paper pulp for lightness) then coated in lusters and 22K gold and is part of a larger discussion examining value, desirability, and capitalism.”
How does your work relate to the theme transformation— How does the work translate joy into strength?
"The Girly-Pop designs reference the aesthetics of 90's girls toys and girly cartoon characters in popular kids shows, such as Power Puff Girls and Sailor Moon. The messages received through these pieces of media were complicated, laying the stage for both girl-boss attitudes, Paris Hilton vibes and the, now coined, ""pick me"" mentality. Escaping the cultural grip of the late 90's and early 2000's to 2010's has been a relentless struggle for women my age. There was a saying when I was growing up, ""Cool boys do cool things, Cool Girls date cool guys."" Respect was gained by proxy and only for the egregiously thin and enigmatic. Returning to a satirical, yet jubilant embrace of frill, pop and pink, has been a way to heal myself from the self-hate and judgement I experienced as a girl.
The work is radically joyous, girly, large, and acts as a protective talisman. When worn, they induce a feeling of confidence and joy. There is a considerable amount of pride in myself that floods over me when this pair in particular is worn."
Anything else you would like to share about this work?
This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
"The methods I use to join nichrome and clay together are a craft that I would argue is largely an original process. It may not be obvious at first glance but the assembly of these pieces is quite difficult to do successfully. The method is sculptural in nature, I single-fire the work with glaze on handmade armatures, and then apply the lusters and hardware. The clay is formulated to be incredibly lightweight, durable and archival. There are no glues or dyes just metal, mineral and clay. It is very time consuming and requires a lot of precision."
"Girly-Pop, Nostalgic", Ceramic, nostalgic Y2K charms, sterling silver, nichrome, 1.5"x4" 2023