Kara Hoblin's Star Continues to Rise on the North Fork

This week’s Dan’s Papers North Fork cover artist, Kara Hoblin, just opened her latest solo exhibition, The Gardener’s Daughter with the North Fork Art Collective within the historic Fiedler Gallery in Greenport (207 Main Street) last Friday, June 27.

The exhibition represents a deeply personal body of work Hoblin is debuting for the first time. “The Gardener’s Daughter is a celebration of nature…the mundane and the magical. It is a love letter to simple pleasures: the feeling of earth beneath your feet, a field of wildflowers blending into the sky, a tumble in the waves, the salt air on your skin. It honors both what is known and unknown, the natural world we walk through every day and the realms we can’t see,” she writes of the show, adding, “At its heart, this is an exploration of life’s dualities, of life and death, the seen and unseen, as above so below.”

Through vibrant color, raw emotion, and a sense of childlike wonder, Hoblin invites viewers into her world…one of curiosity, reverence and appreciation. She describes every piece as an “experiment, created with no expectation, only the purest intentions to create and connect.”

East End art lovers should be well acquainted with Hoblin’s work, especially on the North Fork where she leads the North Fork Art Collective, which she founded in 2017 as a home for artists of all mediums and skill levels. “It’s not just a gallery space — it’s a community hub offering exhibitions, workshops, events, and support for local creatives,” she explains, noting, “From chalk art to fine art, from public murals to intimate gallery shows, the North Fork Art Collective is shaping the East End’s visual landscape — one collaboration at a time.”

Speaking of chalk art, many will recognize Hoblin from her colorful and beautifully rendered chalk pieces that can be found at various businesses throughout the region. She drew a great deal of attention during the pandemic for one particular piece created while in lockdown to honor essential healthcare workers on the front lines. It went viral online and was shared thousands of times.

In 2022, thanks to the publisher having loved her essential workers tribute, East End Press published Hoblin’s first book, East End A to Z featuring a wonderful series of letter-based pieces serving as “eye spy” pages for adults and children to enjoy while reading together. Each letter is represented by numerous objects, animals and places, such as C for caterpillar, clam, crab, chicken, corn on the cob, crocus, corn maze, and Cutchogue Diner — all of which appear in a two-page spread for the letter.

“This is where we live. This is our home. These are things they can then connect with driving by, or remember. That’s what I was thinking. Learning about the place where you live in a fun way,” Hoblin said of her book upon its release, proving once again her deep connection to the East End community, which manifests itself so powerfully in her efforts to prop up other artists via the North Fork Art Collective.

While perhaps broader in its scope, there’s no question Hoblin’s new show, The Gardener’s Daughter, draws heavily on her experiences and love for her home on the East End. Her show opened alongside The Bloom Room, another North Fork Art Collective exhibition focused on our local plant and animal life, curated by artist and Collective participant Scott Bluedorn. Hoblin also recently exhibited in I Say Potato at the Bridgehampton Museum and several other spring and summer shows in the area.

She continues to dazzle with works in a variety of media in a variety of places, making Hoblin one of the most active and exciting young artists working on the Twin Forks today. Follow her work at @karabellaa on Instagram, and at karahoblin.com.