Mother Earth is on fire and huffing, horrific wars are raging, and bigotry and discrimination seem to be ramping up all across the globe. It’s all a lot to take in and almost impossible to make sense of, but Blair Saxon-Hill tackles these complicated times and feelings head-on using oil paint and a lot of heart. Her concern and coping mechanisms are clearly evident in her work, but she also signals towards hope and generously offers us a little respite from the grandeur of everyday worries.

In a painting simply titled The News, Saxon-Hill solemnly portrays a forlorn figure sitting in an antique chair stunned and disheartened by the newspaper spread across their lap, which features a chaotic scene reminiscent of Guernica. The reader is not acquiescent; however, and instead is firmly planting their finger on this ghastly image for us to see and bear witness to. Through a window, an uplifting tree branch peers in unaware of the scene’s heavy nature, and the room is coated in a buzzing floral wallpaper that shimmers like jewels and somehow calms down the scene, and also us.

As a counterbalance, Blair Saxon-Hill often paints moments from her creative life in the studio, and those which she imagines for other artists and friends. For Blair, part of her painterly process still involves adorning her studio with fresh cut flowers and bouquets, which serve as a diversion and a balm for both her and the audience when painted as floral portraits. The practice of visiting flower markets and then painting their beauty took hold during the pandemic when we all needed a little lift, and while the masks are now off, life is still not easy. Flowers say, it’s going to be ok, and you are loved in this traumatic world. Painting them is therapeutic and brings her energy back to nature, where most answers can be found. As the poetic title of her exhibition Even Then Flowers Bloom suggests, nature goes on with or without us, thus serving as a soulful reassurance in this very challenging time for humanity.

Blair Saxon-Hill (b. 1979 Eugene, Oregon) currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Her work has been exhibited at the New Museum Triennial, New York, NY; Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; SHRINE; Los Angeles, CA; Pace Prints, New York, NY; JOAN, Los Angeles, CA; VENUS Over, Los Angeles, CA; and The Hallie Ford Museum, Salem, OR. She has been awarded fellowships from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Ford Family Foundation.