MOLLY LASTRA PAINTING
HELLO!
My name is Molly Lastra.
I'm an artist based in southern New Hampshire. My work focuses on landscapes and environmental imagery.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
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Molly received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and her Master of Science in Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University. As an artist living with a chronic illness, the connections between artmaking and psychology have always interested Molly. She appreciates the connections between the body and nature and investigates those themes in her work.
Molly has participated in both group and solo exhibitions throughout New England, New York, and the southeast. Noteable exhibitions include solo shows at the Sprengeri Gallery and Clinton College, both located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Molly was awarded a grant in early 2022 from the Arts Council of York County and the South Carolina Arts Commission, both of which receive funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition to her endeavors in the southeast, Molly was a ChaNorth artist-in-residence in 2022. She returned for an alumni retreat this winter (2024).
Originally from Manchester, NH, Molly relocated back to her hometown in 2023 after fifteen years in the Carolinas. Beyond her regular studio practice, Molly is a part-time educator at the Currier Museum of Art. Molly leads classes for both adults and children and aims to foster a creative, supportive, and engaging art-making environment. She also works with the Currier's Wellness Programming, leading arts-based-initiatives with Southern New Hampshire University's Center for New Americans program.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My painting practice utilizes environmental imagery to symbolize fragility, growth, and strength. The landscapes and waterways I incorporate into my work communicate the parallels between the body and nature. The cyclical and ever-changing environment is reflected in me, and vice versa.
My current body of work plays with contrasting textural and tonal elements through repetitive mark-making. There is such playfulness between chaos and uniformity, and my work is a push and pull between the two. I construct fragmented and distorted imagery to convey the dichotomy between sickness and wellness. As an artist living with a chronic illness, and as a member of a creative community, I strive to normalize open and supportive conversations about mental and physical health. My painting practice is intended to start those conversations.