Pacific Breeze II

 B. 1993 in Milwaukee, USA

Lives and works in London, UK

Referencing the visual language of film photography, with its distinctive haze and ambiguity, Madelynn Green’s paintings function as the physical embodiments of underrepresented histories and visually engender social and political concepts. Paint drips and figures are loosely rendered to foreground the strength of paint as a tool for radical image-making, distinct from the objective camera lens. This imaginative balance between abstraction and representation generates new associations.  Her experiences growing up in the American midwest and south shape her subjective and material interests, which despite manifesting in paint, are rooted in photography, a fundamental aspect of Black artistic traditions because it is accessible and allows Black people to create their own images in the wake of stereotypical Jim Crow propaganda.

Madelynn’s background in politics guides her paintings and is subtly manifested in her proliferation of counter-hegemonic images. Making paintings in focused series, she addresses a range of subjects, synthesizing varied ideas and experiences. Working from photo and video reference material as well as imagination, recent subjects have included family and social dynamics, primarily those found in nightclubs and crowds.

Her work is held in private collections globally and was acquired by the UK Government Art Collection in 2019