Naomi creates evocative works that explore memory, intimacy, and the emotional resonance of everyday spaces and objects. Through layered compositions, her work transforms familiar interiors and domestic scenes into poetic reflections on presence, absence, and personal history. Balancing precision with atmosphere, Naomi invites quiet contemplation about the subtle emotional currents embedded within the spaces we inhabit.
"A couple weeks ago, I went to a gallery, and they wouldn't let me use the bathroom." Naomi is the first resident to reach for something that happened just two weeks prior when asked about a difficult art world experience — every other resident has reached back into their career for an answer. Naomi Hawksley lives in the moment in a refreshing way.
"A couple weeks ago, I went to a gallery, and they wouldn't let me use the bathroom." Naomi replied when I asked her about a difficult art world experience she had during the interview process of Flower Residency. Naomi is the first who has reached for something that happened two weeks prior. Every other resident has reached back into their career for an answer. Naomi Hawksley lives in the moment in a refreshing way.
As we traveled to various galleries, studios or museums, Naomi would ask me questions like "if you could have any super power, which would it be?" (for her, it's shapeshifting) or "what's a musical guilty pleasure you have?" (for me, it's Gracie Abrams). She asks the best questions, and it's no surprise because Naomi is transfixed by work that requires questions. If you can immediately describe why something is good, it doesn't carry the same weight. It doesn't have the same aura as a work that you like, but mystifies you. That's the space Naomi's own work lives in. You might not immediately know what you're looking at. It might take a second to take in everything happening in a single piece. If you are present, ask the right questions, and explore, you will find something.
Until Naomi Hawksley, every Flower Residency resident has been a painter. Naomi draws and collages her works. Instead of canvases, speciality paper provided by Hiromi Paper was an important pickup when Naomi arrived. While in LA, Naomi explored for inspiration. She visited The Getty and discovered Odilon Redon in a solo exhibition dedicated to his dark, dreamlike charcoal and pastel works. She insisted on visiting Yoko Ono's show at The Broad where she was transfixed by Ono's Half-A-Room.
Naomi loves music, loves a good concert, and is about as chill as they come. She showed up to Los Angeles already knowing people and left knowing a lot more. Naomi Hawksley approaches everything, the city, the questions, the work, with the same presence of mind. She is unhurried, unbothered, and always paying attention to what's actually there.
— David Maxwell, Flower Residency Host
Interested in a piece? flowerresidency@gmail.com
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a few extra shots of naomi
Flower Residency