Over the next few months we are offering a glimpse into the creative process of the Art Department’s graduating master of fine arts candidates, who are presenting their final thesis exhibitions throughout the spring semester. These exhibitions represent the culmination of years of dedicated study and artistic exploration, showcasing our students’ diverse talents and innovative approaches to art-making.
Paulina King is an installation artist, primarily creating large-scale and site-specific sculptural works. “I’m very interested in the relationship between our society and the world we inhabit,” she says. “My pieces work in tandem with natural forces — establishing aesthetic, symbiotic relationships that highlight overlooked phenomena. Through these interactions, I aim to ground the viewer in the physical world, encouraging a reconsideration of our engagement with our surroundings, and more broadly, the environment.”
King is the recipient of the 2025 Arts + Literature Laboratory Prize, awarded to an outstanding graduating MFA student at UW–Madison. As such, ALL will host her final thesis exhibition, “All the while the earth was humming,” from March 18 – April 12. In addition, some of her final exhibition work will be sited at the UW–Madison Arboretum.
“I was absolutely thrilled to receive the ALL Prize this year,” says King. “Because my work is so dependent on site, I have been wanting to work at ALL since my first year in grad school. With the massive windows and beautiful natural light, the space has an embedded, potent energy.”
“As with many of my other pieces, this show revolves around ongoing collaboration with natural phenomena, specifically rain, light, and wind,” King adds. “These works contribute to a growing body of work cataloguing poignant, ephemeral experiences that I have had with nature.”
There will be a reception at ALL on Friday, April 4, from 6 to 8 p.m., and at the Arboretum on Saturday, April 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. Both of these events are free and open to the public.
As she prepares for her exhibition, King shared some insights into her works in progress:
As I work in installation, these pieces won’t be finished until I have installed them on site! So instead, I’m showing you insight into my prototyping and creation process.
The image at right shows a mockup of the ALL installation, which I call “Canopy.” These pieces are connected to a wind sensor in the Arboretum, which will provide real-time data to create a “flutter” of movement within the gallery. I was particularly inspired by the shadows created by trees on windy, partly cloudy days. The shadows are constantly moving, and continually changing based on how much sun is available at any given point.
One day, as I watched this dynamic display, I wondered what this shadow would look like if the leaves were transmitting their color, instead of blocking out the light. I began to experiment with different colored acrylic prints (taken from abstract photographs of mine from the Arboretum) and shadow casting, which led me to this final work.
The image above shows a work in progress of the pieces that will be installed at the Arboretum. Here, I am creating a series of terracotta vessels that will collect rainwater. When they are full, they will create a series of reflection planes through which to view the surrounding environment. Over time, the water will seep back into the earth through the porous clay body, aiding with water retention at the site.
As I was biking through the Arboretum this summer, I spotted this phenomena occurring in an old root cavern along the lake. I had biked this route countless times, but had never seen this happen! It only lasted for a few days before the water disappeared, but while it was present it created the most beautiful re-contextualization of environment and space. It was a very powerful experience, as the chance of biking on that specific day allowed me to witness such a sight. I’ve been interested in recreating this moment since, and felt that organically shaped terracotta allows me to mimic the occurrence.
I’m generally really taken by these ephemeral moments occurring all around us. The earth really is humming, all the time! When I witness them, they feel important and potent. I think experiencing the magic of nature through these phenomena connects us to the environment in a very physical way, and pushes us to feel an almost meditative presence within ourselves. Throughout my life, these encounters have provided grounding, almost spiritual, energy for me, and I’m interested in sharing this perspective with others.