Details:

This painting depicts a woman working to get out of a chair. The artist's psychological portraits frequently feature figures grappling with choice—giving voice and validation to the quotidian struggles of the masses.
Unframed
Signed and dated

① Artwork:

The Process (Stephanie)

This painting depicts a woman working to get out of a chair. The artist's psychological portraits frequently feature figures grappling with choice—giving voice and validation to the quotidian struggles of the masses. In the present moment, there is an ever-expanding multitude of options presenting themselves on a daily basis; the gift of choice can be stifling, even overwhelming—transforming the breadth of possibility into the likelihood of conformity dictated by our lives. The composition's combination of rich tonality and overall flatness encourage viewer’s to experience the work as if gazing into a mirror.

Bounds' portrait scenes of domestic life economically employ a confident line to depict their figures’ complex private thought processes. The artist captures quiet moments suggestive of internal conflict, urgency, complacency or fleeting opportunity. Bounds' work often scrutinizes how social conditioning encourages self-doubt—and how that affects our perception of our own abilities.

The artist’s work considers possible movement scores for the body, examining both agency and indecision—the opposing outcomes of any decision. The figure in this work is stuck in stasis, vacillating between possibility and limitation; they are stuck in a moment between malaise, despair, futility and exhaustion—as if they were secluded in a cave, separate from the world around them. The artist renders this moment in cold tones, lengthening the duration of time in which the figure must make their decision. The composition forces viewers into a similar purgatory as the central figure, leaving both ensnared in an endless moment of potential action.

Specs:

17.5 inches
14 inches

③ Artist:

Molly Bounds

Molly Bounds work captures quiet moments suggestive of internal conflict, urgency, complacency or fleeting opportunity. The painter, illustrator and printmaker employs a line both confident and economic, and her portraiture depicts the complexity of her figures’ private thought processes. Bounds creates narrative scenes of domestic life that frequently scrutinize the social conditioning of self-doubt—as well as its effect on the perception of one’s abilities. 

BIO:

Molly Bounds was born in Texas and raised in Colorado. The artist received a BFA in Printmaking from Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado in 2014.

Bounds’ work has been exhibited internationally, including at: Here Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Pt. 2 Gallery in Oakland, California; Stephanie Chefas Projects in Portland, Oregon; Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles, California; and China Heights Gallery in Sydney, Australia.

The artist is an artist-in-residence at Redline Contemporary Art Center in Denver, Colorado.

Bounds lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Molly Bounds:
The Process (Stephanie), 2022
Acrylic and vinyl on canvas over wood panel
14.0 × 17.5 inches /
Molly Bounds:
The Process (Stephanie), 2022
Acrylic and vinyl on canvas over wood panel
14.0 × 17.5 inches /