The Matrescence of Moll Brau
By Clarisa Gonzalez
With the muffled sounds of a telenovela playing in the background, Moll Brau focuses intently on her canvas, carefully detailing the leg of a lifelike spider with a fine paintbrush. The spider appears to rest calmly on the rounded belly of a pregnant figure, mirroring the artist's own condition at the time of this interview.
Photo Courtesy of Andrea Calo for Martha’s
Brau's subjects tend to bear a striking resemblance to her own appearance: a chin-length honey-blonde bob, lacquered nails on slender fingers, and toned musculature. Despite these similarities, she does not consider these figures a direct representation of herself.
"When I started self-referencing, I was studying all of this Jungian theory, so a lot of that had to do with archetypes. It was easy to have the blonde bob as this constant control that had all these other outside variables," explained Brau. "She's more like an alter ego, an extension of myself. There's a disconnect for me from that figure--she's a stand-in for something bigger."
Photo Courtesy of Andrea Calo for Martha’s
"There's something meditative and beautiful about endurance performance. I can't capture certain feelings on a canvas. It needs a ceremony or ritual, and documenting that process becomes part of the artistic expression." noted Brau. "There is also an artistic/scientific approach where I'm gauging how people will react to something by setting up these terms and conditions for them. I think it's interesting to see what people will do when they're not sure what's going on or what's going to happen and then gauging their reaction."
Photo Courtesy of Austin Leih
"There's something meditative and beautiful about endurance performance. I can't capture certain feelings on a canvas. It needs a ceremony or ritual, and documenting that process becomes part of the artistic expression." noted Brau. "There is also an artistic/scientific approach where I'm gauging how people will react to something by setting up these terms and conditions for them. I think it's interesting to see what people will do when they're not sure what's going on or what's going to happen and then gauging their reaction."
Still Frame from “Exercises in Advancing Forward”
"Previously, [my work] was all about self-mastery of the body, but now, I have to approach life with a 'let go, be calm, be chill' attitude, which is not my M.O., you know? It's an interesting thing for my art, having to forcibly slow down," said Brau. "I think that's where all this nature imagery comes in. Nature really does have this slow-moving, cyclical fashion about it. It's just going to do what it does, and it can be super strong and forcible and you don't really have control over it."
Photo Courtesy of Andrea Calo for Martha’s
Her daughter was born shortly before the opening of Deliverance, and is credited with bringing out the artist's softer side, allowing Brau to embrace a more reflective and gentle approach to her art.
"After Nike was born, I realized that these paintings are softer and sweet, and I can show them to her and tell her I was thinking of her even before I knew her."
In moving through these changes, Brau’s work highlights the strength of surrender—to motherhood, the natural world, and to artistic practice.
Moll Brau is an Austin, Texas-based artist from Shreveport, Louisiana. Her work has been featured at Seasons LA, Inman Gallery, Rusha and Co, and Martha's.
Keep up with Moll's work via Instagram.
For sales and inquiries, contact Martha's.