Light, Water, Place

For her first solo exhibition in Paris, Madeline Peckenpaugh invites us to explore a world where light, water, and environment converge to create landscapes suspended between reality and abstraction. Light, Water, Place immerses us in the heart of nature and its transformations through artworks that gradually reveal themselves, in a subtle dance between erasure and accumulation.

Born in the American Midwest, Peckenpaugh draws inspiration from the landscapes of her childhood, marked by the marshes and prairies of Wisconsin, while also integrating the urban environments she has inhabited as an adult. Her works, though deeply rooted in her personal experiences, transcend geographic boundaries to offer a unique sensory universe. The canvas becomes a microcosm, a self-contained world where natural elements—especially water—circulate and shape the space, inviting viewers to shift their perspective and reconsider their relationship with painting.

Each artwork has its own atmosphere, which the artist describes as a “climate,” reflecting her desire to capture the essence of a natural phenomenon through textures, colors, and shapes in motion. In this way, Peckenpaugh creates environments where human gesture and the spontaneity of the material come together. The artist responds to each new layer of paint, letting herself be guided by the dynamic evolution of her work. By incorporating moments of chance into her creative process, she allows certain elements to emerge naturally, mirroring the behavior of landscapes sculpted by the forces of nature.

I am interested in the time it takes for a painting to unfold and how a work can appear calm and serene next to one full of movement and rhythm.

Inspired by Joan Mitchell’s approach, Peckenpaugh explores the power of the individual gesture and seeks to cultivate harmony born from a certain chaos. Each brushstroke has a distinct presence, yet is subtly connected to the others, creating a tension between order and freedom. This gives her works an energy rooted in the materiality of paint and the visible trace of the gesture.

Peckenpaugh thus offers a captivating visual experience where each painting, with its contrasting rhythms—some serene, some dynamic—expresses the harmony between contrast and complementarity. The artist explores how composition, texture, and movement in her works evoke varied and profound emotions. Light, Water, Place becomes an invitation to contemplate the world with renewed vision, where nature and abstraction harmoniously merge, like a landscape slowly transforming with the rhythm of the seasons.