Maddie Stratton
Maddie's obsession with color and light comes largely from growing up in the lush city of New Orleans. After receiving her BFA from Pratt Institute (2013), she moved back to her hometown in 2014 to pursue a deeper interest in painting. Maddie is a member of the Aquarium Gallery and Studios collective. She has exhibited work in the Louisiana Contemporary Juried Exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Sibyl Gallery, and Good Children, among many other group shows. She also participated in the Azule and Jx Farms residencies. She recently installed a solo exhibition, "Interloper," at the Java Project in Brooklyn, New York. Maddie lives and works in New Orleans, where she also works as a scenic painter for a Mardi Gras house floats company. However, she spends most of her time working on her own paintings in her studio at the Aquarium Gallery in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans.
Statement
I am constantly thinking about my place in this world as a human being. My work explores the relationships and experiences between humans and animals, blurring the lines between encroaching presence and symbiotic existence. Using a surreal atmosphere and bright, unnatural colors, these paintings take inspiration from the whimsy and satire often found in children's stories. These scenes create an idyllic but surreal landscape of figures and animals existing in harmony, while suggesting a more complex, underlying narrative.
What initially sparked your interest in art?
I've pretty much known I wanted to be an artist from the beginning. As a child, I always had a pad of paper and colored pencils or crayons with me wherever I went, and I would sit and draw for hours. My mom, who is an artist, would sometimes sit and draw with me. My parents would bring me along when they went to museums, gallery openings, etc. As I got older, I helped my mom at her craft shows and markets with setup, inventory, sales, etc. In high school, I attended NOCCA, the arts conservatory in New Orleans, where I developed a deeper appreciation for art and was encouraged to attend art school. I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be an artist, and my mom's profession always made being an artist feel like a real option—almost more real than traditional jobs like doctor or lawyer.
What connects your work together and what keeps you creating?
I think what connects my paintings is their sense of color and texture. I love vibrant colors juxtaposed with earthy tones in unexpected ways. I also usually depict some kind of natural element, and I seem to be obsessed with painting sunsets and pink skies. I feel a kind of electricity when I see a painting I like or observe something in the world that inspires me. The need to create is compulsive; when I get into a state of flow in the studio, I could paint for hours. It just makes me happy!
Describe your work using three words.
Colorful, surreal, sunkissed.
What are you most proud of as an artist, whether it's a specific moment or who you are as an artist?
I guess I'm just proud that I've kept going with it. Being an artist can be punishing. My work is inherently personal, so it's hard not to take any achievement or rejection personally. It has been a hard year (I broke my foot and was out of work for months at the beginning of the year), and when I look at my finances, imposter syndrome rears its head. I start thinking maybe I'm not cut out for this, maybe this is the time when I decide to get a 'real job.' But I won't—I don't think I would be as happy doing anything else. I love that I am able to commit so much time to something that brings me joy, and I am proud that I can keep it going.
If you could be in a two-person exhibition with any artist from history, who would it be and why?
I don't know if I can choose just one! My top three are:
Alice Neel: Her portraits have inspired me so much throughout high school and beyond. I love her use of color in the faces and how she can describe people's personalities with brushstrokes.
Matisse: I am obsessed with The Red Studio painting and many of his portraits' use of seemingly random colors on faces.
David Hockney: Also a forever inspiration. I love his portraits and his sense of color.
