Spotlight Artist

Mollie Douthit

MFA Annual
Artist profile photo
Featured in New American Paintings

Artist Statement

Paint attracts me when it hinges between representation of something and its own descriptive potential. The subject matter I am interested in consists of objects that are tactile and consumable. A painting creates a divide, limiting our senses to sight, with touch referenced only by the residual mark of strokes. The method of painting is a seductive device in its description of the objects; the image references the actions of construction. The marks are attractive in their own right, holding validity as a description of paint, and allowing moments of ambiguity within the image. They constitute a gestalt that has presence in the object’s absence. Within a painted void, the only visual cue to the object is its construction. Migrating between representation and depiction, the construction’s practical meaning is challenged by the desire to include it in our vernacular visual culture.

Artist's Additional works

Works shared by the artist outside of their featured New American Paintings selections

Featured artwork
Featured artwork

Discover more artists from the MFA Annual

THE MAGAZINE

Explore our magazine to discover exceptional artists

Open magazine with text, modern illustrations, and a list of artists on a pink background.
View issues

Call for Artists

Submit your work for consideration

New American Paintings is a juried exhibition-in-print and digital, presenting the work of 40 emerging artists in each issue.

View competitions

Your gateway to new art

Discover tomorrow's art stars, today

Two books on a wooden table with a modern decorative sculpture in the background.

PRINT + EARLY ACCESS DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

$179/YEAR

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

$99/YEAR OR $10/MONTH

Each issue of New American Paintings features forty artists selected through our juried competitions—presented in a beautifully curated, full-color publication. Subscribers receive six issues per year, plus exclusive online access to current and past editions. Are you a collector? Consider our premium subscription and receive our museum-quality printed publication + access to each new digital issue two weeks before its general release.