May 19

Madison Rocap

Madison Rocap is an emerging artist and contemporary draftswoman who has participated in a couple exhibitions with Pennsylvania Western University. Her work has been published in the Tobeco Literary & Arts Journal. Madison’s abstract drawings explore relationships between space and motion. These vibrant works give off a vigorous energy and often have the appearance of controlled chaos with energized lines.

The drawings are forms which are snake-like or smoke-like in appearance. Often linear and containing smears of charcoal, these works have configurations crossing over into each other in rapid degrees of motion as if they were organic futuristic machines in forceful functionality. The compositions usually flow freely in an X or S like routine which has the viewer chaotically wandering their eyes throughout the surface. There remains a stormy and hurricane type of appearance to the works as grains of smudges of charcoal follow free flowing forms contorting across the surface.

Two notable pieces would be the drawings pictured directly above and below. The top drawing depicts a high contrast, thick foggy atmosphere while the drawing below shows a carefully crafted yet loose design in the shape of a sprawling vortex. Both drawings offer varying approaches, however tie into each other through movable forms and scratchy marks. Drawing with her eraser, Madison uses negative qualities of the charcoal to define shapes and a sense of linearity. In terms of aesthetic value, the drawings appear to convey emotional impulses, an almost impulsivity and drastic reaction. There remains a feeling of sudden urgency within the works as if executed with great haste and energy. These dynamic drawings offer an insight into variation yet consistent exploration of shifting organic planes.

Madison Rocap is currently continuing her studies in an MFA studio arts program at SUNY New Paltz. With an infusion of guided practice, these energized works will surely develop into promising machinations of pure creative expression. With experience and a continuing sense of grit the future of the series will surely take hold on the international art community. In their current state, they serve as fascinating explorations into portraying motion in pure form. These drawings offer studies in interesting and drastic, sudden measures of relationships of form with negative space, creating vigorous compositions. Not quite minimalistic and not really expressionistic, these works offer insight into experimental practices in contemporary image-making.