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 various meditation traditions and techniques and integrates this parallel practice into her paintings. 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, a Metropolitan Arts Council Next Step Grant, and grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Her work is represented by McCormick Gallery in Chicago.
Current/Upcoming Exhibitions:
The Circle That Unites Us, MIAD, Layton Art Gallery, Milwaukee
January 12–March 6, 2026
Reception: Friday, January 16, 5–8 p.m.
EXPO Chicago (McCormick Gallery)
April 9–12, 2026
Press:
- Melanie Pankau’s Meditative Paintings Translate Internal States Into Arrangements of Crystalline Shapes, Alan Pocaro, Newcity
- An Interview: A Quiet Index with Melanie Pankau, Pete Driessen
- Thresholds, Nicole, Nfonoyim-Hara, Exhibition Catalogue
- On Edge: Hard Edge Abstraction, Elliot Reichert, Newcity
- Melanie Pankau's Geometric Meditations, Kate Sierzputowski, Inside/Within
- Right Angle : Melanie Pankau, Mindy Pantiel, Luxe. Interior + Design
Links:
- Art File Gallery, The Painting Center, New York, NY
- Artsy
All Images: Copyright © 2026 Melanie Pankau. All Rights Reserved.