Harper’s is pleased to present concurrent solo exhibitions of work by Scott Kahn and Madeleine Bialke. In paintings that are at turns subtle and sublime, Kahn and Bialke revisit a myriad of possibilities offered by the landscape genre by infusing quotidian scenes with an otherworldly sensibility. The exhibitions will open on Saturday, June 15 with a reception, attended by the artists, from 6 to 8 pm.
Curated by Jeanne Masel and presented in the upstairs gallery, Madeleine Bialke: Vital Signs will include seventeen works that grapple with the conventions, history, and legacy of American landscape painting. Drawing upon the genre’s early role as a significant tool for defining national identity, and inspired by figures such as George Catlin and Albert Bierstadt, Bialke’s imagery establishes an alternate vision of the natural world, increasingly under the threat of global warming and environmental disaster. Flattened planes of sky, ground, and greenery articulated in acidic and neon hues, form an uncanny backdrop for the herds of mammals that amble through it. Elsewhere, cartoonish trees, grids, and gradients suggest a hybrid reality composed of natural and digital elements, culminating in an enigmatic, otherworldly image of our ever-changing shared environment. A portion of the proceeds from this exhibition will support the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a renowned international advocacy group that works to address the climate change crisis.
Madeleine Bialke (b. 1991, Elmira, NY) received a BFA from SUNY Plattsburgh, NY in 2013 and an MFA from Boston University in 2016. Bialke has participated in residencies at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Alva, OK; and Julio Valdez Project Space, New York. Most recently her work has been exhibited at SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York (2019); Deanna Evans Projects, New York (2019); Asya Geisberg Gallery, New York (2019); Jesse Dunn Annex, Alva, OK (2018); and Commonwealth Gallery, Boston (2015), among other institutions. Bialke lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.