Madeleine Bialke’s paintings engage with the evolving relationship between humans and the natural world, reflecting her deep interest in both ecological and societal concerns. Drawing from the long tradition of landscape painting, her work considers the profound transformations of nature, often influenced by human activity. Bialke addresses themes such as extinction, environmental degradation, and domestication, yet her work is also imbued with a sense of hope, suggesting that encounters with the natural world can foster empathy and understanding. Her landscapes frequently present forests and terrains in a post-apocalyptic yet romantically sublime manner. Growing up near the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York, she developed a fascination with the power of nature and the relative smallness of human existence. Her compositions immerse viewers in spaces that evoke the fragile balance of life close to untouched environments, now teetering on the edge of change. Bialke’s use of color is central to her practice, generating emotion and atmosphere through wide tonal ranges, unusual gradients, and strikingly unconventional skies—shifting from warm oranges to greens, lavenders, and mauves. These choices suggest environmental transformation, reflecting both harmony and disruption in nature. Layered oil on linen builds depth and texture, emphasizing that the natural world is a living entity, not merely a human resource. ...
