The Light Well
Mollie McKinley
Lustrous Descent
July 19–September 1, 2024
Opening reception
Saturday, July 20, 3–5 PM
Mollie McKinley’s exhibition Lustrous Descent brings an extraterrestrial quality to Turley’s new space, The Light Well. Nestled behind the windows at the back of Gallery 1, McKinley’s elements of salt, glass, and neon create a seemingly alien environment in juxtaposition to the standard white cube.
Mollie McKinley, Tír na nÓg (Illuminated Nebula), 2023, carved and charred salt, blown glass, coated glass tube filled with argon and mercury, 16 x 32 x 10 inches
Mollie McKinley
My practice begins with contemplative time spent in caves and streams. I’m especially interested in the relationships between the ethereal and visceral qualities of these wilderness sites. I use multiple materials and processes to interpret the phenomena I witness there, especially through sculptural photography, carved salt with blown glass, and neon.
The photographic sculptures are made by collaging close-up images of waterfall foam and gloopy cavern formations. Printed on canvas and hand-cut, I form these images with soft sculpture materials to create perceptual distortion. My salt sculptures are carved from solid salt blocks, with bubbles of hot glass pressed into the eroded shape. Each sculpture functions as a portal into the otherworldly pleasures of the elements.
Mollie McKinley, Tír na nÓg (Illuminated Plum Entity), 2024, carved and charred salt, blown glass, coated glass tube filled with argon and mercury, 12 x 13 x 22 inches
Mollie McKinley is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice integrates photographic images, glass, and sculpture to explore the intelligence of nature. McKinley’s work has been shown at Fridman Gallery, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, NADA, Pioneer Works, UrbanGlass, Independent Curators International, The Samuel Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz, The Museum of Arts and Design, Anthology Film Archives, and many others. McKinley holds a BA in photography from Bard College and an MFA in sculpture/dimensional studies from Alfred University. She is a Light Work resident in photography in 2024 and is a contributor to the recently published How-To Kit, published by the Walker Art Center with the Dia Art Foundation. McKinley is based in the Hudson Valley of New York.
Installation photography by Mollie McKinley.