Rodney Madison

Exhibition Overview

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To make an impression is, at its root, to press deeply — to leave a permanent mark. The word derives from the Latin impressionem, meaning "a pressing into" and later from the Old French impression: "an image produced in the mind or emotions by something external." It is in both these senses that the work of Chicago-born painter Rodney Madison is animated, and through which the act of painting is a process of courting risk and trusting the unknown. 

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"As I dip the brush into paint and then onto canvas, the painting's future is unknown, unforeseen," Madison writes. "I begin to make marks on the canvas and these marks eventually relate to others. As these foundational marks settle, I become increasingly unsettled with an anxiousness that arises brought on by the anticipation of the developing piece. As I work through this, a frenzied period emerges which in result is my greatest joy. My intent is rarely to send messages through my work but what is important is that my artwork conveys energy, creativity, beauty and soul."

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The exhibition title also gives a nod to two towering works in the American musical canon. The first is The Impressions, the landmark debut album by the Chicago soul group of the same name, led by Curtis Mayfield — a record that established him as an artist whose music both leaves a lasting impression and reflects his surroundings. Impressions is also the title of one of John Coltrane's most celebrated albums, capturing the jazz master at his most exploratory. Both records are touchstones for Madison, and music runs as an undercurrent through everything in this show.

 

Key themes

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The exhibition is organized thematically across the gallery's main space and its historic bank vault. A body of work born out of Madison's recent move to Cape Cod anchors the opening rooms. Growing up on Lake Michigan on Chicago's South Side, and having later lived in the Hudson Valley, water has been a constant throughline in Madison's life and work; a relationship that has since deepened living on the harbor. The paintings in these rooms reflect the coastal landscape through Madison's distinct visual narrative, populated by motifs of boats, fishing rods, and ladders, as well as land-bound forms such as flowers and birds. Figures are often depicted moving among them, whether inhabiting boats, inside a window near the shoreline, or fishing on the ocean, as in Sea Hunt (2026). 

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A hallmark of these works is Madison’s use of color as his primary language. His palette moves between bright, saturated hues and earthier tones, with bold black lines used to define compositions and delineate the canvas. 

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Also on display is Madison's inventive relationship to surface and medium. Painting on found objects is central to his practice, demonstrated here by two centerpieces of the exhibition. C.T.A. Transfer (2026) is a painted wood sculpture worked onto a piece of timber that once formed part of a Saint Nicholas sleigh sign. Nearby, Dapper Angler on 47th Street (2026) depicts a fisherman with his catch, painted onto a vintage decoy. Madison makes use of the shapes and textures of these unconventional surfaces, allowing them to further frame the image which heightens the work's immediate effect. 

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At the heart of the exhibition, housed in the gallery's bank vault, are works drawn from Madison's hometown of Chicago alongside portraits made on Cape Cod. Inside hangs one of the largest and most commanding works in the show: Harold's (2023-2024). The painting belongs to a larger series based on the iconic hand-painted signs that Harold's Chicken Shack, the beloved Chicago franchise, is known for, each depicting a fry cook chasing a chicken with a cleaver. Evident in Madison's painting is an unerring ability to capture the same freeze-frame animation and condensed complexity of the originals. Running alongside this is Madison's longstanding interest in portraiture, often drawn from people and places that have stayed with him, as seen in Shoesmith Patrol Boy (2025), named for the Chicago elementary school Madison attended as a child.

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Impressions is accompanied by a catalog of Madison's recent paintings and a playlist curated by the artist.

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Rodney Madison: Impressions is organized by Will Macnamara, artist’s representation, alongside Ian Kabat, Interim Executive Director, Cape Cod Cultural Center, and Amanda Lee, Chief of Staff, Cape Cod Cultural Center.

 

Images: Rodney Madison, Wendell’s Romance II (2026). Oil on canvas, 40 x 16 inches; Rodney Madison, Harold’s (2023-2024). Oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches.