Artwork By
Mollie Hosmer-Dillard
In this Exhibition
Step into a world of intricate, layered paintings that reimagine forests and water through the innovative lens of artist Mollie Hosmer-Dillard. This dynamic exhibition is a testament to experimentation, blending non-traditional, abstract techniques to capture the ceaseless evolution of nature. Each work is meticulously crafted using laser cutting, silkscreen methods, textile techniques, hand-ground ink and thinned oil paint, creating rich texture and depth. Visit today to witness this extraordinary fusion of art and nature!
My large-scale, layered paintings take forests and the surface of water as their primary sources of reference. I’m drawn to the density of these natural forms, the unending shimmer across my visual field. This kind of optical experience evokes the perception that everything in my scope of vision is equally important, that everything is equally alive.
Artists have long used ornament and decoration to create “all-over” compositions that speak to this consonance, unity or uninterrupted alive-ness in nature. However, the words “ornament” and “decorative” are commonly used as pejorative terms in Western painting. The research behind my work reveals that this view of the decorative as an inferior means of artistic production bears strong links to overt racism, sexism and colonialism. This is an especially intriguing observation at our present moment in history, a moment when we are witnessing in full measure the flaws inherent in the industrialized world’s assumptions about the natural world.
Though my bodies of work are varied, they all involve abstraction derived from experimentation. Using non-traditional processes and materials, I work till I uncover an internal logic within them, an emergent beauty and integrity within a cast of changing characters. The paintings on view here make use of laser cutters, silkscreen procedures, textile techniques, hand-ground ink and thinned oil paint to arrive at images that emerge from a way of working rather than from a predetermined idea. My use of repetitive mark-making elicits nature’s ceaseless changes, its emergent structures and its uninterrupted aliveness, evoking a vision of nature countervailing to the one held by industrialized society.
he history of our planet, development of species, human existence and the impact of scientists, philosophers, inventors, writers and builders. However, I am mostly inspired by musicians and artists and all their forms of expression.
Architecture should be more organic. I have been exploring a variety of forms that could be considered architectural models including customized tables and pedestals. Some forms are mystical, spiritual; others are austere.
With a surreal approach, I’ve tried to capture a sense of wonder.
Who would live or work in these structures?
What kind of culture are they connected to?
Are they ancient? Futuristic?
When I started making the ceramic architectural structures, I also began making little human figures. They were quite solitary in nature, monk-like, peasant-like. I intended them to be singular representatives of the people who inhabited the structures. This reminded me of my past interest in carving small figures. My wife, Deb, told me I should carve wizards again because I had always enjoyed that process in the past. So, I did. They have returned. They seem to have that sense of solitary wisdom that I wish existed more in our lives.
My explorations have led to a variety of expressions in different media. You can see some common threads in all my works. I hope you get caught into the very small details.
