Hilary Irons earned her BFA from Parsons School of Design in 2002 and began teaching at Yale School of Art, where she earned her MFA. She studied as a private student with painter Sigmund Abeles and maintains a studio in the Artists Studio Building in Portland. While her work has become more stylistically diverse with time, some consistent themes remain: how does the juxtaposition of naturalism and abstraction (in the context of composition) mirror the human experience in the natural world, and how does this relate to our use and interpretation of our natural habitat? What kind of power dynamics are at work in the relationship between people and the land? How have landscape painting and geometrical abstraction traditionally approached this dynamic? Her site‐specific work was recently included in the group exhibit “Knock Knock” at Mayo Street Arts.
Laurels
● Leon Levy Foundation Grant to attend a MacDowell Colony residency.
● Residency at Hewnoaks ● Al Held Prize to attend the American Academy in Rome
● Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture grant
Extracurricular
Hilary enjoys reading all kinds of novels, new and old, especially those by Rachel Cusk, Elena Ferrante, Tessa Hadley, and Karl Ove Knausgaard. She enjoys spending time with her daughter, who hopes to be a robot scientist in the future. When Hilary was a child she lived without electricity or running water until she was about seven ‐‐ a formative experience that continues to influence her interests and art practice.