MOLLY STEVENS

Knight in armor with teeth, 2012,

oil stick on paper, 61” x 47.5”
 

 

 

 

What are you working on in your studio right now?

 

 

I’m developing new large-scale oils on paper and canvas. These past few months, I’ve been seeing boxers, guardians, cats with guns and most recently, lederhosen.
 

 

 

Can you describe your working routine?

 

 

I aim to work every day because it’s a muscle. It’s work. Inspiration has little to do with it.

 

It takes tremendous effort to start, but once I get myself into fish pose and turn on my news programs, I can get cracking.

 

On good days, I can’t imagine doing anything else. More often, the doing is tortuous and fills me with doubt. I feel like I’m always on the verge of giving up. But I can’t.

 

 

 

 

 

Head (Boxer), 2012, oil stick on paper, 60” x 44”

Can you describe your studio space and how, if at all, that affects your work?


My studio is my home, my home is my studio. I do everything here. Work, eat, sleep, have Thanksgiving, get married. This is my island.

I tried to have an outside studio space twice but I couldn’t get there.

So my work is intimate, very personal. The conundrum is how to make the individual bigger, to the point that it is exhibited and no longer mine.

Studio view toward windows

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2011

 

 

 

 

 

Tell me about your process, where things begin, how they evolve etc.

 

 

My plan never pans out. Ever. What ends up happening is a call and response between what I’m doing and seeing, between a campaign of brush strokes or finger rubs and an inkling of a form. Then an image finally emerges. I want an image. 
 

 

 

What are you having the most trouble resolving?

 

I struggle with comparison: I am not that artist; this color is not that color; this is not abstract; that isn’t figurative; this is not as meaningful as that. I struggle with what is.

 

Do you experiment with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain parameters?

 

I’d like to say that I experiment, but I really don’t.

I like direct, fast, saturated media. That’s why I love oil sticks. I’ve recently started to incorporate oil paints so that I can brush in large surfaces. The drying time is a killer though.

 

I also love graphite, and brush and ink. But then it’s over before you know it


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What does the future hold for this work?

 

 

Let’s hope a lot. I’m preparing for a solo show at Slag Contemporary in 2013. I want it to be as good as David Bowie being Ziggy, but who’s comparing. 

 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

 

I understand why Lee Bontecou dropped out of the scene.

 

 

 

 

 

Still life with lettuce flower, 2012,

 oil and oil stick on paper, 62” x 48”