Billis/Williams Gallery is pleased to present Featuring: MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR, the gallery’s first feature of the Los Angeles based artist’s paintings. The exhibition opens with a reception on February 21st and continues through March 21st.
Magnolia Lafleur’s paintings are an exuberant exploration of the complexities of what it means to be human. Walking the line between order and chaos, Lafleur’s deft use of intense color and her brushwork unite in paintings laden with symbolism.
Lafleur was raise hearing fables, proverbs, and parables from her Trinidadian father and Panamanian mother. These allegories made a deep impact on her – they are a way of sharing knowledge and making sense of the world – and how lessons are passed from generation to generation. We are losing that type of storytelling – we are losing the connection between generations. Lafleur’s work is the antidote – the paintings tell stories and share wisdom in a language that speaks to this moment – a visual language.
These paintings speak in a voice that communicates to a generation bombarded constantly with images – they are sharing the wisdom and insight gained from past generations and through lived experience. They are poetry and parable made material.
Magnolia Lafleur (b. 1983) was born in Sacramento, CA, and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. She started running at eight years old and went on to become a professional track and field sprinter winning gold in the 4×400 meter event at the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Champions. She continued to compete for nearly a decade and was training for the 2020 Olympic trials when the pandemic hit. The COVID delay of the Olympics provided the impetus for Lafleur to retire from the sport and pursue journalism and painting full time. She went on to receive her MFA from Laguna College of Art and Design in 2025. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
