Stunning exhibition by US artist opens in Kilkenny

When Worlds Collide, a solo exhibition of recent work by the Irish-based, USA born artist, Mollie Douthit  will open at the Butler Gallery On February 4 and runs until March 24.

Mollie Douthit explores ideas of intimacy, domesticity and memory in her work. Her paintings celebrate everyday moments and personal experiences where her singular sense of humour prevails. Her paintings of interiors are representations of the sensory and remembered qualities of space and objects sourced from the visual filing cabinet of her mind.

“As works of auto-fiction, the process of painting has developed my awareness of memory’s fragility and truth’s flexibility…. As I develop the work, I try to make an object or space as emotive as it is in my mind. I notice the distance between the actual event and its existence as memory—one operates in the physical world, the other in the mental place; the act of painting bridges these two. Though these memories are my own, I trust that my process of remembering and imagining translates to something universal” Douthit explains on her artist statement on her website.

Kilkenny woman's Irish pig under the gavel!

Over time Mollie has developed a palette distinctly her own, expressing emotion using saturated vibrant colours, reminiscent of technicolour films from childhood. The body of work exhibited is mostly drawn from memories of Mollie’s beloved grandparent’s uniquely designed holiday home, situated on Pelican Lake in Minnesota, where Mollie spent summers as a child in the 1980s and ‘90s. It was a magical world that firmly remains in her mind as a place of hope and love.

In 2022, Mollie met her Swedish husband Arvid and he has had a significant impact on her life, cracking it wide open for her and creating even more overlap in life and work. The relationship has encouraged her to be more open and fluid with her days, something reflective in a number of these new paintings.

Mollie Douthit enjoys a simple quiet life outside Ballydehob in West Cork, where living and working takes place in a studio/home cabin situated down a winding boreen. Here, the closeness of nature provides her with a quality of life that informs her exceptional paintings.

Mollie Douthit is originally from North Dakota and has resided between Ireland and the US since 2012. She holds a BFA from the University of North Dakota, a Post Baccalaureate from Tufts University, Boston and an MFA from Burren College of Art at National University Ireland in Galway.

Mollie Douthit in conversation with writer Sara Baume will take place from 6pm to 8pm on Thursday, February 8 at Butler Gallery.