“Every human being is an artist, a freedom being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions,thinking, and structures that shape and inform our lives.”
- Joseph Beuys
Trotter&Sholer is pleased to present Freedom Being, a solo exhibition by Yvette Molina that showcases freedom as an act of embodied self-expression and play. Using egg tempera on found cardboard, Molina lovingly depicts friends and strangers engaged in simple, joyful activity. The title of the series, Freedom Being, names both the individual figures Molina portrays as well as the experiences of freedom we actively shape. For Molina, freedom is found in a sensual and creative state of being. It exists when we are fully present and attuned to the wonder of the world around us. It is not an escape or a refusal to see things as they are, but a conscious act of embracing the joy this world has to offer, even in the face of heartbreak.
Most of the people Molina portrays are the result of serendipitous encounters in outdoor public spaces. In Dreaming Meadow, a woman is seen resting face down, immersed in the vibrant green grass. Her beautifully rendered dress seems to be dissipating into thin air as if part of a daydream made visible. In Paint theRainbow, a figure is captured in a moment of ecstatic dance - their arms are outstretched and a smile evident on their upward tilted face. Whether through dance, napping amidst the grass, hula hooping, roller-skating, or protest, Freedom Being serves as a kind of visual field guide to reclaiming one’s own, momentary freedom. Looking for freedom and joy is an important part of Molina’s artistic process; it becomes a feedback loop. The conscious decision to see joy reminds us how ubiquitous it really is. For Molina there is a kind of freedom to be found in capturing these moments in paint as a reminder of what is possible.
As our lives are increasingly indoors and mediated through sedentary screen consumption, Molina believes a willingness to play outside and in public is vital to community. Her work celebrates play unhooked from productivity - no trophy to win or record to set, but rather a state of flow to share and enjoy. To that end the Trotter&Sholer gallery space is imagining itself as a kind of playground. Molina has created a hopscotch grid in the gallery and the opening event will feature hula hoops, jump rope, and sidewalk chalk; an invitation toc ome play and be free
Freedom Being will be on view at 168 Suffolk Street from Sept. 3 through Oct. 11, 2025.
