Mairi Blair

Mairi Blair is a contemporary artist living and working in Glasgow whose practice explores the intersection of figurative drawing and abstraction. Blair earned her BA Hons in Fine Art Painting from Grays School of Art in 2025 and has since been working primarily in large-scale mixed-media drawings, investigating how the body functions as a vessel of memory and transformation rather than an idealised form.

Drawing forms the foundation of Blair's practice, often beginning with observational studies of the moving body. Influenced by dance as a form of storytelling, she translates physical movement into expressive mark-making that embodies both fragility and resilience. The visible traces of construction and erasure become records of life, highlighting the body's capacity to carry memory and change.

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Central to her work is an interest in embodiment and somatic awareness, the relationship between bodily experience and our connection to the natural world. By encouraging viewers to engage with the body as part of a broader ecological system, her practice explores themes of presence, empathy, ecology, and human interconnectedness.

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Drawing inspiration from artists such as Jenny Saville and Curtis Holder, Blair creates immersive works that challenge traditional approaches to figuration. Through the tension between structure and instability, her drawings invite viewers into intimate psychological spaces where personal and collective narratives can unfold.