My practice centers around ecology, community, memory, and the home. There are many interpretations of these broad terms, a variety of contexts they inhabit. The artwork explores this, through borrowing from the gained experiences of others and my own. As the meanings of these terms transform, so does the artwork.
Throughout the painting process, I find myself asking near impossible questions. How can family be interpreted through the light of a communal bonfire? How can the call of a mourning dove reflect a distant suburban summer? And how can something as visual as painting answer those questions?
Generally speaking, as with many artists, I paint about what I care about. People, observations, research. I am intrigued by the land we all inhabit, and how we inhabit it. Many of my recent paintings include numerous native plants and animals from the Rhode Island area, regardless of subject. The work is an outlet to learn more about what I call home. It tends to piece together images that begin to build a psycho-geographic map of past memory, person, any entity that warms the heart. It is as much of a personal project as it is a communal one- I hope to provide the same warmth or reflection to viewers as they take in the images.
Madeline Menkes received her BFA in Painting, with a Concentration in Nature, Culture, and Sustainability Studies, at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her studies landed her in Providence, where she currently resides as a working artist. In Providence and surrounding areas, she teaches studio classes, develops murals, and maintains her personal practice whenever the opportunity arises.
Throughout the painting process, I find myself asking near impossible questions. How can family be interpreted through the light of a communal bonfire? How can the call of a mourning dove reflect a distant suburban summer? And how can something as visual as painting answer those questions?
Generally speaking, as with many artists, I paint about what I care about. People, observations, research. I am intrigued by the land we all inhabit, and how we inhabit it. Many of my recent paintings include numerous native plants and animals from the Rhode Island area, regardless of subject. The work is an outlet to learn more about what I call home. It tends to piece together images that begin to build a psycho-geographic map of past memory, person, any entity that warms the heart. It is as much of a personal project as it is a communal one- I hope to provide the same warmth or reflection to viewers as they take in the images.
Madeline Menkes received her BFA in Painting, with a Concentration in Nature, Culture, and Sustainability Studies, at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her studies landed her in Providence, where she currently resides as a working artist. In Providence and surrounding areas, she teaches studio classes, develops murals, and maintains her personal practice whenever the opportunity arises.