42 x 30 cm | 16 x 11 in
Subject: Abstract
Original drawing in paper on watercolour paper.
Materials used: Alcohol ink, gesso, watercolour paper
Notable Achievements 2021
See Investable Artists II
See Investable Artists I
Kent’s internationally exhibited work relies on paradox and is designed to overwhelm. On the one hand it incorporates organic shapes and soft fabrics as she works with labour-intensive traditional crafting practices. On the other its content is highly influenced by the Glitch Art aesthetic: acidic colours and short phrases have a strong, disruptive presence. Kent’s love for craft shows; also in evidence, is the modern preoccupation with tensions between craft and art. Her work is of its time in the way that the craft of rug making originally was. Bold and challenging, it’s a clear statement about contemporary living which the viewer can use to reflect on their own relationship with technology and their inner critic – only more relevant in the wake of the isolation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is exciting emerging art, reflecting the times the artist is coming of age in: she was selected in November 2021 for the New Artist of the Year, chosen by judges under the brief, ‘Where do we go from here? Is there to be a ‘new normal’, and put on display with 10 other shortlisted artists at the Saatchi gallery.
Molly has recently been working with paint on paper in addition to textiles. These small scale but vividly rendered works employ a surrealist turn to externalise internal drama: a state of mind’s terrain depicted in the high contrast of bright colours and deepest black.