Commonwealth and Council presents new work by Molly Larkey. 

The title of the exhibition, “Gosling Fig Cilantro,” is taken from names of the commercial house paint that Larkey uses in her paintings; the juxtaposition of the words is a verbal analogy of the promiscuous associations of color in the work. In these recent large-scale collages, Larkey investigates the structures of painting by breaking down its components of color, material, and gesture. Boards are painted and mounted on the wall, and large pieces of watercolor paper are hung on the boards. Canvas, pastel, and paint are applied to both surfaces: the canvas is cut apart and glued to paper; pastel chalk is broken and ground into canvas; paint is applied over pastel. New associations between color, texture, and pattern are formed as volume is confused with flatness, painted gesture becomes background, and the materials themselves are foregrounded as the subject of the work. 

Molly Larkey received a BA from Columbia University, New York, and an MFA from Rutgers University, New Jersey. Her work has been exhibited at LACMA, Los Angeles; PS1 MoMA, New York; The Saatchi Gallery, London; The Drawing Center, New York; Horton Gallery, New York; and Ochi Gallery, Ketchum. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.