Generation to Generation, 2025, Oil on canvas over wood panel, 49x48in
Iava Hohmann
Unmet Expectations
In my body of work I am exploring the pressures of femininity. I specifically focus on how not only they are a looming force in society, but are forced generationally. How do our ancestors uphold our idea of the “perfect woman”. What does this mean for us and how do we fold under these expectations?
Girlhood, 2025, Oil on canvas over wood panel, 48x26in
Artist/Thesis Statement
My work considers the psychological and cultural weight of femininity using oil on canvas, delving into the complex, invisible pressures of what it means to be the "ideal woman." Posing these questions within domestic environments, each piece operates as a quiet confrontation—a space where beauty and unease can exist simultaneously. Through the use of symbolic iconography such as dead birds, pearls, ribbons, and delicate wallpaper patterns, I intend to evoke a sense of fragility and dominance. These objects, historically tied to notions of purity, ornament, and domesticity, become unsettling markers of the emotional and generational toll of societal expectations placed on women, and where do these ideals persist?
I am particularly interested in how ideals of womanhood are not only performed, but also inherited. Addressing this using repetitive patterns and symbols meant to embody the reiteration of these standards. My paintings aim to provoke reflection concerning what defines the perfect woman. How are these ideals shaped, as well as how are they passed down? In presenting these questions through constructed interiors and symbolic subjects, I invite the viewer to look beyond surface beauty and consider the quiet, persistent demands that shape female identity.
Unmet Expectations, 2025 Oil on canvas over wood panel, 46 x 30in
