Melanie Pankau’s paintings are guided by her daily meditation practice followed by a process of automatic drawing where geometric forms and diagrammatic structures unfold. For over a decade she has studied a variety of meditation traditions and techniques, and integrates this parallel practice into her paintings that both embody and reveal a contemplative consciousness. Pankau received her BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1999, her MFA from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 2011, and studied at the Bauhaus Universtät in Weimar, Germany. Her work has been shown in regional and national exhibitions at venues including: Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN; Thomas Barry Fine Arts, Minneapolis, MN; South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, IN; Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA; Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN; TuckUnder Pavilion, Minneapolis, MN; McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL and art fairs Art Miami, FL, and EXPO Chicago, IL. She has participated in several artist residency programs including the Vermont Studio Center, the Ragdale Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Pankau is a recipient of a Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Community Arts Assistance Program Grant and grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Her work is represented by McCormick Gallery in Chicago.

Resume (pdf)


Upcoming Exhibitions:
EXPO Chicago
McCormick Gallery
April 11–14, 2024

Rochester Art Center
Rochester, MN
September 2024–February 2025

Links:
- Art File Gallery, The Painting Center, New York, NY
- Artsy

Press:
- An Interview A Quiet Index with Pete Driessen
- Exhibition publication for Thresholds
Exhibition Review in Newcity
- An interview with Inside/Within 
- A feature in Luxe. Interior + Design



All Images: Copyright © 2024 Melanie Pankau. All Rights Reserved.