Madeline Peckenpaugh

My paintings are depictions of metaphorical landscapes, inspired by the forces in nature and tension with materials. The process is charged by embracing techniques that challenge and surprise me, allowing chaos to enter and unfold into an unknown space. I hold onto this abstract quality as the underlying energy in the invented landscape. These first stages of the painting are often covered, and recovered, showing the layers and compression of space, time, and place. Marks and gestures in the painting can become elevated to status of subject rather than a means to build form or depict surface qualities. The paintings create a double narrative, one being depicted through the illusion of the image, and the other through the manipulation of the materials. I invite various forces of nature, such as: life-cycles, interconnected patterns, pressure and gravity found in natural and citified environments to produce abstracted but highly located places. Every landscape is a container for personal and communal meaning. My paintings are a way for me to engage with my own understanding of how our surroundings affect and define us.

Could you tell us a little more about your background, and how did you begin creating art?

I'm from Milwaukee,WI, and received my BFA and Certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2015, and my MFA from RISD in 2020. Both of my parents are painters, so I grew up within a house filled with art and where art was being made. It just sort of naturally happened when I started making my own work.

What does your art aim to say to the viewers? 

I don't aim to make my work say something specific to a viewer, because each viewer will see and feel something differently. That being said, I do think about a collage of perspectives while making my paintings, not only a human perspective, but spatially as well.

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?

I typically work on about four large paintings at a time, all ranging in dimensions. They are landscapes, so the size of the canvas needs to feel big enough for my body to enter within the space, but manageable enough for me to move them around. I start each painting differently, often dying raw canvas, taping off shapes, or starting with a drawing,  Being surprised by my materials keeps me curious and allows my practice to evolve. My daily routine depends on what stages the paintings are in. Some days I'm working quickly, other days are much slower, when I'm probably analyzing more than necessary.

What’s the essential element in your art?

Space, time, and light.

In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society? 

To slow you down, change your perspective, question your surroundings, and reorganize your imagination.

Website: www.madelinepeckenpaugh.com