Molly Einstein is a multidisciplinary artist who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she is expanding her practice in multimedia drawing, oil painting, and printmedia. Her work examines the experiences of memory, love, change, and womanhood. She is expected to graduate and be included in the BFA show in May of 2026.

Statement

My work aims to function as a mirror. Although it is rooted in my own experiences and imagery, I want to make it open enough for viewers to project their own histories onto it. I often question memory, identity, and how emotional patterns repeat across generations. Much of my imagery is drawn from my family archive, particularly my grandmother’s photographs and poetry, which I frequently use as source material to explore how the past quietly shapes the present.

I primarily work through slow and careful rendering which allows the emotional content to come through in a similarly subtle way. I try to move away from making images that feel photographic or too close to life, aiming instead for something softer, restrained, and contemplative.

Color is also central to my practice. I’m drawn to muted palettes, especially Venetian red paired with subtle greys. These colors only fully reveal themselves next to one another, which helps keep the work quiet and low contrast. I’m interested in images that unfold slowly, and that ask the viewer to spend time with them.