Madeline Pender
Painter
Working and living on the Seacoast of New England, oil painter Maddie Pender strives to capture the intricacies of everyday life. Born and raised in Hampton, New Hampshire, she is strongly influenced by the natural beauty of the landscape, which drew her to start painting at a young age. Madeline can also draw, sculpt, and has worked on large-scale mural projects for the public. Her recent 2022 mural can be seen at Cisco Brewery in Portsmouth New Hampshire. Through still-life painting, she strives to find moments of visual interest in mundane objects by manipulating form and color. This same use of color brings a playfulness to her figurative paintings, where memories are given new life. She is an all-semester Highest Dean’s Honors student and a two-year recipient of the Edwin and Mary Scheier Art Scholarship. Madeline is currently a BFA candidate who plans on graduating in May of 2023.
Artist’s Statement
“My work delivers the bittersweet nostalgia that comes with the confrontation of recollection. It romanticizes girlhood and the innocence of juvenescence. The paintings are alive and everchanging within the context of the viewer. Some are left unresolved, the significance growing and settling in a unique spot of each onlooker.
Each demanding stroke speaks to the formation of identity. Painted in a way that evokes a sense of playfulness, we see the repeating motif of a girl. To me the girl is Layney. That being said, the girl is also myself, the girl might even be you. She is unapologetically careening through the early years of her life, distinguishing herself daily through the way she conforms to, or breaks the expectations of society.
There is no better medium for these works than paint. It’s adaptable, yet sure of itself. Applied in layers and reworked over time, the final result yields a careful hastiness relevant to the subject matter.
This collection is an ode to the big moments that once seemed small. Formative childhood memories that live on inside of us as adults every day. A lavish application of paint serves as a reminder that time is not linear, and that youthfulness has no age. Whether she is reluctantly trying something new or strutting in confidence, Layney lives in all of us.”
Gallery
Installation Views
