top of page
MollySpain_Logotype_White.png

BIO/CV

BIOGRAPHY

Molly has established a rich and dynamic career in making mixed-media sculpture and two-dimensional artworks. Resourceful, inventive, skilled and rigorous in her exploration of materials, she uses a sophisticated sensibility of form in space to produce works that feel both deeply explored and elemental. Molly examines extended connections among humans and natural structures as she shapes metal, wood, paper and mixed media to generate art that is organic and ordered, primal and elegant. She has also specialized in delivering a broad range of innovative commissioned works - small-scale and monumental art for private and public settings. In 2021, she completed 'Critical Mass,' a mural covering the entire exterior of the five-story Mainframe Studios building that has become a landmark in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. 

 

Molly studied at Slade School of Fine Art - University College London and at Iowa State University before receiving her BA and BFA from University of New Mexico. During her time at UNM, she studied under John Wenger, whose outdoor studio classes exposed her to the sculptural landscapes of the desert Southwest. Along with her years growing up on an Iowa farm, this time in the Southwest profoundly influences her art practice, which continues to draw on people’s relationship with land, structure, history and travel. Her art has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and is in public and private collections throughout the U.S., including featured installations at Des Moines Metro Opera, Northern Iowa Community College, Surety Hotel Des Moines, Home State Bank and Hubbell Realty. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, The Atlantic's CityLab, and DSM Magazine. She is currently based in Des Moines. 

CURRICULUM VITAE

SELECTED PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS & COMMISSIONS

​

​‘Chrysalis’ — NIACC Pierce Administration Building, Mason City, IA; Commissioned installation

‘Relict’ — Private residence. Waukee, IA; Commissioned outdoor installation

‘Siege’ — Home State Bank. Polk City, IA; Commissioned installation

’Hull - Nested’ — Des Moines, IA; Private commission

‘Us 3’ — Level Condominium Lobby. Des Moines, IA; Permanent installation

‘Ascent’ — Blank Performing Arts Center, Indianola, IA; Commissioned installation

‘Critical Mass’ — Full Exterior of Building, Mainframe Studios. Des Moines, IA; Permanent installation

‘COIL - Suspended’ — Franka Pizzeria. Clive, IA; Permanent installation

‘Untitled’ – Entry Atrium, Mainframe Studios, Des Moines, IA; Permanent installation

​​​

​

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS​​

​

2024

Hybrid Practices — Olson Larsen Gallery. West Des Moines, IA

​

2023   

Greater Des Moines Exhibited — Polk County Heritage Gallery. Des Moines, IA
‘Aegis’ — Grandview Art & Design Gallery, Rasmussen Center. Des Moines, IA; Solo exhibition

​

2022

‘Relic’ — Polk County Heritage Gallery. Des Moines, IA; Solo exhibition. Possible with grants from Iowa Arts Council.

​

2021  

Downtown DSM Hide & Seek — The Greater Des Moines Partnership Event. Des Moines, IA

Iowa Exhibited XXXVI — Polk County Heritage Gallery. Des Moines, IA; Group exhibition

‘Grasping Center’ Video Installation — Limited Space V, Temple for the Performing Arts. Des Moines, IA

‘Mindful Terrain’ — Surety Hotel. Art Week. Des Moines, IA; Collaborative paper installation with Sabrina Carper

​

2020  

Downtown DSM Hide & Seek — The Greater Des Moines Partnership Event. Des Moines, IA

Art of Our Time Benefit — Mainframe Studios. Des Moines, IA

​

2019

Iowa Exhibited XXVI — Polk County Heritage Gallery. Des Moines, IA

Women’s Work — Olson Larsen Gallery. West Des Moines, IA

‘COIL’ — Olson Larsen Guild Space. West Des Moines, IA; Collaborative installation with Oyoram

‘COIL Suspended & Seated’ — St, Kilda, 5th St & Locust locations. Art Week. Des Moines, IA; Solo installations

‘Falling With Grace’ — Zanzibar. Des Moines, IA; Solo installation

​

2018

Reflections — Mainframe Studios. Art Week. Des Moines, IA; Solo installation

Iowa Exhibited XXXIII — Polk County Heritage Gallery. Des Moines, IA

​

2017

Elevation Excavation — Private event. Des Moines, IA; Solo exhibition

2016  Molly Spain Works on Paper — Green & Main. Des Moines, IA; Solo exhibition

Molly Spain Recent Works — Proof. Des Moines, IA; Solo exhibition

2015   [FORTH] Recent Works — Zon. Des Moines, IA; Solo exhibition

 

PUBLICATIONS

DSM Magazine — “Paper Chase” July/August 2019, Cover & pp. 8, 108-116.

​THE GUARDIAN — “The best towns and small cities in the US: Des Moines, Iowa /Mainframe”.

Black & white gouache paintings featured in the photo. Online publication, March 7, 2019

CITYLAB — “Des Moines Wants to Be the Affordable City for Artists”

Portrait and studio featured in lead photo. Online publication.

 

GRANTS & AWARDS

2024

Project Grant - Artist Grant Recipient. Iowa Arts Council, Des Moines, IA

​​

2021

American Rescue Plan Arts Grant Recipient. Iowa Arts Council, Des Moines, IA

FY 2022 Iowa Arts & Culture Resilience Grant Recipient. Iowa Arts Council, Des Moines, IA

Iowa Arts & Culture Resilience Grant Recipient. Iowa Arts Council, Des Moines, IA

Honorable Mention for ‘Totem’, charred wood sculpture. Juror Mary Jones.

Iowa Exhibited XXXVI — Polk County Heritage Gallery, Des Moines, IA

​

2020  

Emergency Grant 202004-9058 Recipient. Iowa Arts Council, Des Moines, IA

​

2019  

Merit Award for ‘COIL’, paper installation. Juror Sarah Grant Hutchinson

Iowa Exhibited XXVI — PC Heritage Gallery, Des Moines, IA

 

PROFESSIONAL DESIGN

Architectural & Industrial Designer/Owner  Molly Spain Designs — IA, CA, TX,NM (1991-present)

Architectural Designer  Silent Rivers Design+Build — Des Moines, IA (2016 – 2018)

Design Director/Manager  The Integer Group — Des Moines, IA (2005-2011)

Design Director  Des Moines Metro Opera — Indianola, IA (1998-2001)

Art Director  Karen Emberston Design — Santa Fe, NM (1992-1994)

Freelance Graphic Design - Interbrand New York, Mark-Q Designs & College Concepts — New York, NY (1990)

 

BOARD PARTICIPATION

Polk County Conservation Board, Art Committee, Granger, IA

Metro Arts Alliance, Board of Directors, Des Moines, IA

 

EDUCATION

BAFA University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 1990-1991

Exchange Study — Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, London, England, 1991

Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1987-1989

University of Nebraska, Kearney, NE, 1985-1987

bottom of page