Future, Unknown

Hailing from the South Side of Chicago and born in 1959, painter Rodney Byron Madison is currently the curator of Madison Studio Gallery in Millers Falls, MA.  However, as full as his studio is with a flurry of visitors and admirors of his work, surprisingly it wasn’t until reaching his 50’s that he discovered a passion for expressing himself through Art.

From an early age, his parents, acclaimed artist Reginald Madison and Rita Marie Williamson-Madison-Harris a retired bank Vice President of a Bank, knew the importance of exposing him to museums, galleries, concerts and poetry.  After living for a few years in Europe, the Madison family returned to America where they lived in the Berkshires in an Artists Colony and later in Connecticut. Rodney recalls the years being filled with an eclectic mix of hippies, artists and musicians. His parents were lovers of Jazz and taught Rodney and his sister all about “the greats” of that genre.  As an adult and armed with a Master’s Degree in Education, Rodney Madison has spent many years in leadership as a teacher, and much like his parents and grandparents has been a social and political activist for much of his life.
 
About his process, Rodney Madison says, “As I dip the brush into paint and then onto canvas the painting’s future is unknown, unforeseen. I begin to make marks on the canvas and these marks eventually relate to others. As these foundational marks settle, I become increasingly unsettled with an anxiousness that arises brought on by the anticipation of the developing piece. As I work through this, a frenzied period emerges which in result is my greatest joy. My intent is rarely to send messages through my work but what is important is that my artwork conveys energy, creativity, beauty and soul.”