Madron Gallery

Despite being known as the “American Giverny,” the artist's colony at Old Lyme, Connecticut was not known for the sun-dappled scenes typical of French Impressionism. Instead these artists attempted to capture the ethereal glow of the moon scattered over the New England landscape. Among the Old Lyme residents, these nighttime scenes were referred to as “rainy day paintings” — when the weather was unfavorable to plein air painting, the artists would retreat to their studios, conjuring nocturnes out of memories of the woods and waters of the coastal town. In Robert Vonnoh's "Lingering Rain, Moon and Eventide," the stream leads us back to the old farm house like a hazy apparition.

Robert Vonnoh (1858-1933), "Lingering Rain, Moon and Eventide,"
c. 1925, Oil on canvas, 25 x 30.25 inches

FINAL DAYS | TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE closes this Friday, June 12.

The group exhibition features four contemporary Chicago artists; Jacob Futhey .futhey , Glen Gauthier , Kate Hendrickson , and Kara Cobb Johnson .

Paper: a flat plane of existence where boundaries are created by set dimensions defined by the physicality of the sheet; a reality where flat or irregular edges, hot or cold press, color, and weight are determining factors in not only the construction of an artwork, but also its presentation. These four artists take a dramatically different approach to their use of paper, but their artistic practices are bound together by experimentation and multi-layered creative processes that reexamine each medium of photography, collage, and screenprinting.

Come see Jacob Futhey's mixed media works on paper in Tell Me What You See. On view through Friday, June 12.

Jacob Futhey, "Spin and Shift," 2024,
Mixed media, 22 x 17 inches (paper size)

In "Self-Portrait with Model," the artist appears intent on his work, leaning into the canvas before him, while a n**e model stares at him from behind, hands on her hips with impatience. The theme of the artist and his model mirrors art historical works by Vermeer, Courbet, or an obscure favorite by Édouard Dantan, yet Hirsch introduces a unique tension in his work.

Read more about Joseph Hirsch's intimate ink and wash on paper in our May (yes, a little late--give grace) newsletter.

Joseph Hirsch (1910-1981), "Self-Portrait with Model,"
1979, ink and wash on paper, 10.5 x 10 inches

Come see "Finish Line Rocks" by in our current show, Tell Me What You See.
On view through Friday, June 12.

Kate Hendrickson, "Finish Line Rocks," 2025,
Giclée on archival cold-press paper, 16.5 x 22.5 in.,
Edition Artist Proof 1 LP.

Come and see by at Madron Gallery. On view through June 12th - see in person the craftsmanship and the attention to detail!

❤️

Chinatown streets often donned American flags in the early to mid-20th century as neighborhood residents displayed their patriotism amidst widespread discrimination.

Read more about Anthony Thieme's early 20th century depiction of "Chinatown, New York" in our April newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/Thieme-Chinatown

Anthony Thieme (1888-1954), "Chinatown, New York," c. 1940, Watercolor on paper, 13.5 x 18.5 inches

ON VIEW | Tell Me What You See is a group exhibition featuring four contemporary Chicago artists; Jacob Futhey, Glen Gauthier, Kate Hendrickson, and Kara Cobb Johnson. On view through June 12, 2026.

These four artists' work challenge the viewer to look closely. Each take a dramatically different approach to their use of paper, but are bound together by experimentation and multi-layered creative processes that reexamine various artistic mediums including photography, collage, and printmaking.

From the Archives: Works on Paper, an exhibition now on view in our side gallery, has allowed us to highlight some gems from our collection that are not regularly on display.

Oscar Bluemner’s crayon drawing of Hoboken, New Jersey is a perfect example. Bluemner began his career as an architect, but a legal dispute with his former partner over the design for the Bronx Borough Courthouse led him to abandon his design career for painting. He would eventually join the Stieglitz circle and exhibit work at Gallery 291 as well as the landmark Armory Show in 1913.

Many of his compositions feature urban landscapes in bold colors like this one. His work displays a link between European modernist movements such as German Expressionism and Fauvism and what would become American abstraction.

Oscar Bluemner (1867-1938), “Hoboken,” 1911, Crayon on paper, 5 x 7.5 inches.

Kate Hendrickson combines a practice in drawing and photography, creating digital compositions by layering and editing hand drawn color pencil illustrations in Photoshop, printing the final composition on archival cold-press paper.

On view in TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE until June 12.

Kate Hendrickson, "Easy Tempo: Don't Miss the Ocean (awe, you got a chain ring tattoo)," 2025, Giclée on archival cold-press paper, 22.5 x 16.5 inches.