Molly Smith
Molly Smith
Workspace Program Resident 2012
I am drawn to forces acting upon matter. How elements play on materials is the very nature of papermaking and was a fitting extension of my process. Water controls the way the paper is created and pressure affects how it stays together. Papermaking has allowed me to let go of control, which has been a game I frequently play as an artist. I found that making paper requires me to stay present. I could have all my ingredients ready but until things happened in the moment, there was no way to determine the results so I had to be open to all possible outcomes. Accidents were welcome. In one of my first efforts, a very thick piece of paper was pressed quickly which caused it to split. This discovery led me to try similar effects in various pieces, Swamp being one example. The results of drying were another exciting part of the development of each work. I enjoyed giving up expectations for what may result.
In my work, I re-purpose objects and materials. Papermaking provides me many ways to transform discarded everyday materials into new forms. My color palette for the work I made at Dieu Donné was mostly created from leftover pulp from their walk-in refrigerator. It was, for me, another way to collaborate with chance. I also made paper pulp from recycled artwork and detritus from the classroom where I taught. It was wonderful how my collaborator Amy Jacobs did not ban the glitter infused paper or the rusty metal from the wet studio. Amy saw the possibilities of experimenting with these unconventional materials in papermaking. Her matched curiosity and enthusiasm was crucial to my Dieu Donné experience.
My current life project is traveling for nine months. My Dieu Donné experience extended by connecting me to other papermakers who I am visiting across the country. I am also making paper from the natural materials that I collect as I travel. The Workspace residency came to me at just the right time. I was hoping to transition out of working with plaster in the hopes of finding a lighter and more ephemeral material that could still work sculpturally. Through the residency I was able to explore how a three-dimensional piece could be made from something flat but still occupy a greater space by how it is manipulated. As I move across the country, my car is equipped with a blender, molds and deckles, felts and pellons. It provides me the ability to make something out of nothing, wherever I am; a way of life that is my deepest desire as an artist.
— Molly Smith, 2012
In the Studio
About the Artist
Molly Smith (b. 1976, Kansas City, MO) spent the second half of her childhood in Huntsville, AL, before obtaining her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 1999 and her MFA from Columbia University in 2004. She currently lives and works in Worthington, MA.
Smith held her debut solo exhibition, titled One Wave, One Day, at KS Art, New York, NY, in 2006. Subsequent solo exhibitions include: Hours, Kate Werble Gallery, New York, NY (2015); Route, Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2013); Root, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA (2013); Tidal, Kate Werble Gallery, New York, NY (2012); Whether, Kate Werble Gallery, New York, NY (2010); and Between You and Me, KS Art, New York, NY (2008).
Her work has been shown at galleries and institutions including Paula Cooper Gallery, New York, NY; Sikkema Jenkins & Co, New York, NY; Klemm’s, Berlin, DE; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH; Clifford Art Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY; Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY; Roger Bjorkman Gallery, Stockholm, SE; Leo Koenig Inc., New York, NY; and Gallery Min Min, Tokyo, JP.
Smith has received reviews in publications such as The New York Times, Artforum, The New Yorker, Artinfo, New York Magazine, TimeOut New York, and Columbia Spectator. She participated in The Fountainhead Residency, Miami Beach, FL (2011) and the Dieu Donne Workspace Residency, New York, NY (2012). (Source: Kate Werble Gallery)
For more information, please visit their website: https://www.mollyvirginiasmith.com