Mrs. is pleased to present The Light That Loses, The Night That Wins, Molly Bounds’ New York debut solo exhibition, on view at the gallery’s 6040 56th Drive location. This exhibition marks the Los Angeles-based artist’s second presentation with the gallery following The Armory Show in September 2025. The show will be on view through May 2, 2026.
Opening on the vernal equinox, a rare moment when the hours of daylight and night are equal, Molly Bounds offers light as the protagonist in her new series of paintings. It is versatile and ever-changing; it both conceals and reveals, and reminds us of the unrelenting forward movement of time. Depicting her subjects both in contemplation and in the midst of candid movement, Bounds continues her investigation into liminal moments where stillness and urgency shape the mood. Much like the transition from winter to spring, these figures appear on the threshold of a transformative shift.
Bounds captures her subjects in solitude. Her interior scenes feature slumped and draping bodies signaling rest and repose that slowly gives way to unease. These are psychological portraits, capturing something that persists behind dormant states and tired eyes. In The Armchair, the warm glow of a fireplace highlights a textured and lush interior, contrasted against the cold, early evening blue sky seen out the window. Contemplation gradually reveals tension - a mind dwelling, scheming, planning; upholstery seams unravel. The woman maintains a vacant stare that lingers in an eternal way, in bliss or something else.
In Privacy Glass, another figure secludes herself from the outside world, rendered dramatically in both warm and cool hues. The glass offers a clear diffusion to illuminate the subject from behind, while letting a distinct beam permeate the inside from the outside. The result obscures her face and accents her draped clothing, recalling a Georges De La Tour: like the vanitas, Bounds conveys the fleetingness of time and inevitability of darkness.
There are also moments of escapism. In both It Sings in Me and Among of Green, Again a figure moves freely amongst rolling green hills, illuminated under the sun. The landscape appears bucolic and perhaps overly so - is this real or imagined? For Bounds this is less important; the ability to build optimism and a belief in renewal and rebirth is paramount. Contrasting with the scenes of pensive interiority, these landscapes communicate urgency, celebration, possibility, and fantasy. After the darkness of winter, spring wins.
