Catastrophic Molt: Madelin Coit

Catastrophic Molt

A king penguin goes through a phase during which all of its feathers—at once—are being pushed out by new ones. The birds become vulnerable to the cold, and don’t enter the ocean to feed. This is called a “catastrophic molt.” I learned the phrase during my travels in the Antarctic, only weeks before COVID-19 became a global event.

This installation is impacted by the transformation that occurs when we replace old ideas with new ones. It is also deeply informed by my experience in the Antarctic. 

Polycarbonate, paper, and mesh wall sculptures conjure snow-covered formations; the eccentric, perforated forms of drifting icebergs; intricate patterns of lichen, waves, and stone. Light moves across and around the space. Shapes of darkness flex and stretch. The sculpted forms drift along the walls like wind-scattered feathers.   

 

“Two significant concepts inform my artwork across the trajectory of my multi-media career practice. One is the mystery of interface, the edge that separates one thing or place from another.  It may differentiate positive from negative space or divide land from sky as the horizon does.  Or, it may be a transition – as night into day or between states of matter: solid, liquid, or gas.  The other is my interest in ‘pentimento,’ a painting term about transparency and visual seepage, which includes a deconstruction of layers.  That deconstruction declares itself in my work as experienced moments, clumped and aggregated, erased, built up, torn down, and then reconstructed. All of my work speaks to revelation, as in an unveiling, hidden discovery, or ‘aha moment.” -Madelin Coit

About Madelin

Coit’s career as a professional multi-media artist spans nearly fifty years and has produced numerous series in a variety of media. The environment in flux influences her work and often is the direct subject. Her work has been exhibited nationally at the Los Angeles County Museum, the Hammer Museum, the San Antonio Art Institute, and the Anchorage Museum of Art. Locally, she has shown work in Santa Fe at the New Mexico Museum of Art, the Center for Contemporary Arts, SITE Santa Fe, AXLE Contemporary, Gerald Peters Gallery, and James Kelly Contemporary. Her work is in the collections of the State of New Mexico, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Skirball Museum in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, and has been featured in publications such as THE Magazine, ARTnews, and Artweek.  She received her BFA from the University of Connecticut.

www.madelincoit.com