Osakami-Shima: Bug in the Onsen
oil on linen
32"x44"
2003
32"x44"
2003
Madolin Maxey
Providence, RI
It is all about color for Madolin Maxey. Although her paintings at first glance seem to depict familiar landscapes and actual locations, they are only loosely based on reality. Colors and shapes lead the eye around the canvas. In one painting, an orange hill races off the canvas only to be pulled back by the strong shape of Gibraltar’s rock. Great thought has been put into balanced division of space in Maxey’s paintings. A horse stands on a striped triangle of shadows which points directly to the tip of Africa across a slash of blue sea dividing hot yellow-orange land and sky. Metaphor often appears such as when three seashells represent Maxey, her husband, and friend surrounded by a lei of golden wings blessing their return to Hawaii. Maxey has intimate knowledge of her locations, having spent time in Spain, Japan, and the Pacific Rim with her husband. She paints from memory communicating emotional reactions to an experience, telling a story through color and line.Providence, RI
Maxey is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Rhode Island School of Design. She has lived in Providence since 1982 and has been a member of the Providence Art Club since 1996. Although primarily a painter, she has built teahouses, designed extensively for theatre, and initiated public art projects in Providence. Her studio is located at 101 Regent Ave., but she prefers to be contacted through the Providence Art Club.