Malado Baldwin Work | Artist Statement & CV | Return to Artist List
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Artist Statement
The collages, drawings, and paintings you see here reflect a lifetime of multiple identities: as a woman in a mixed-race family, a childhood divided between a small rural village in West Africa, and Washington, D.C., as well as educational backgrounds in literature, film, and cultural theory.
I synthesize landscapes: taking out the easily recognizable human elements and emphasizing a history more vast and even geological; I combine geographically distant places into newly formed worlds. What you see here is both spontaneously created (the collages) as well as epic in process (the large paintings).
The landscapes, textiles, and colors of my African childhood co-habit with Chinese landscapes, Roman mosaics, Russian folk art, space and landscape photography, as well as elements of strange fantasy and imagination… For example, my thrones recall medieval paintings, African sculpture, and European decorative arts. In my collages, this agglomeration of places/ideas is more apparent, while in the paintings the disparate universes collide in a more blended fashion. Part of my desire to paint is an attempt to illuminate the landscapes of the past and conjure up the potential future through subverting the recognition of the human over the natural world.
In these partially invented, partially recalled spaces, psychedelic and modern meld with ancient terrain to become topographies without time or place. They are localities that could be primordial or post-apocalyptic, and are as much familiar as alien. Ideas of both destruction and rebirth play through a lens of vibrant color. My work speaks to the power of landscape to hold suggestive meaning beyond mapping or describing, into exaltation.
Malado Baldwin was born in Oregon, and subsequently lived in Indiana, Senegal and Mali Africa, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and New York. She is a Brooklyn based artist since 1997.
The collages, drawings, and paintings you see here reflect a lifetime of multiple identities: as a woman in a mixed-race family, a childhood divided between a small rural village in West Africa, and Washington, D.C., as well as educational backgrounds in literature, film, and cultural theory.
I synthesize landscapes: taking out the easily recognizable human elements and emphasizing a history more vast and even geological; I combine geographically distant places into newly formed worlds. What you see here is both spontaneously created (the collages) as well as epic in process (the large paintings).
The landscapes, textiles, and colors of my African childhood co-habit with Chinese landscapes, Roman mosaics, Russian folk art, space and landscape photography, as well as elements of strange fantasy and imagination… For example, my thrones recall medieval paintings, African sculpture, and European decorative arts. In my collages, this agglomeration of places/ideas is more apparent, while in the paintings the disparate universes collide in a more blended fashion. Part of my desire to paint is an attempt to illuminate the landscapes of the past and conjure up the potential future through subverting the recognition of the human over the natural world.
In these partially invented, partially recalled spaces, psychedelic and modern meld with ancient terrain to become topographies without time or place. They are localities that could be primordial or post-apocalyptic, and are as much familiar as alien. Ideas of both destruction and rebirth play through a lens of vibrant color. My work speaks to the power of landscape to hold suggestive meaning beyond mapping or describing, into exaltation.
Malado Baldwin was born in Oregon, and subsequently lived in Indiana, Senegal and Mali Africa, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and New York. She is a Brooklyn based artist since 1997.
CV
Education
2006 MFA in Painting, The New York Studio School, NY
1997 BA in Comparative Literature: French/English, with Film Studies & Fine Art, Swarthmore College, PA
Solo Shows
2009 ‘Strange Places’, Greenpoint Industrial Center, Brooklyn, NY
2006 ‘Landscapes and Abstractions’, KeyHole Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2005 ‘Recent Figures’, KeyHole Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2000 ‘Underground Rail Road Series’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1999 ‘New Works’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1997 ‘Holy Grail and Other Works’, Griffin Gallery, Swarthmore, PA
1993 ‘Duchampian’, Visual Arts Center, Wheaton, MD
Group Shows
2011
‘The Cold Majesty of the Numb’, Fireside Follies, Brooklyn Fireproof Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
‘Inside & Out: New Works on Paper by Jason Lujan & Malado Baldwin’, Triangle Gallery 111 Front, Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
‘Video Konstfestival/Audio Visual Loop Party’, Magasinet, Falun, Sweden
‘A Failed Entertainment’, Virginia Commonwealth University, VA,traveling to: Land of Tomorrow, Louisville, KY
‘Single Fare 2’: Sloan Fine Art, New York, NY
‘Where Have You Been?’ Pop-Up Apartment Show, Soho, NY
‘PAPER 2011’: Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
‘Decameron: David Cohen’s Decade of Exhibitions at the Studio School’, The New York Studio School, NY
‘THE BRUCENNIAL 2010: Miseducation’, Soho, NY
‘Last Exit to Brooklyn’, Pop-Up Apartment Show, Brooklyn, NY
‘Nude with a Goose: Essential’, Pop-Up Space, Chelsea, NY
‘I Heart Art’, Work Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
‘Momenta Benefit’, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY
‘Single Fare: Metrocard Show’, Brooklyn, NY
‘Greenpoint Gallery: Spring Salon’, Brooklyn, NY
‘Pairs’, North Water Street Gallery, Kent, OH
‘Selected Works on Paper’, Perimeter Gallery, Cleveland, OH
‘International Juried Show’, Juror David Cohen, Rogue Gallery, New York, NY
2009
‘A Very Long House’, The Last Supper Festival, 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY
‘The Longhouse Project’, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
‘Hypothetical Landscapes’, Janet Kurnatowski, Brooklyn, NY
‘The Wassaic Project Festival’, Wassaic, NY
‘Open City’, Curated by Sean Scully, The New York Studio School, NY
‘35/25 Painting Center Invitational’, The Painting Center, New York, NY
‘Annual Juried Show’, Juror Susanna Coffey, Prince St Gallery, New York, NY
2008
‘Boson Exotic’, Rupert Ravens Contemporary, Newark, NJ
‘Party at Phong’s House’, Curated by Chris Martin, Janet Kurnatowski, Brooklyn, NY
‘LCU Foundation Spring Showcase’, The New York Academy of Art, NY
2007
‘Night of 1,000 Drawings’, The Artists Space, NY
‘Triangle Foundation Dumbo Arts Festival 25’, Brooklyn, NY
‘Governor’s Island Series’, The New York Studio School, NY
‘This Far and No Further’, LIC Artists Space, Long Island City, NY
‘View From Brooklyn’, Vera List Gallery, Swarthmore College, PA
‘LCU Foundation Show’, The Symphony Space, NY
2006
‘Sounds for a Large Space’, LIC Artists Space, Long Island City, NY
‘Triangle Artists Workshop’, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
‘M.F.A. Thesis Painting Show’, The New York Studio School, NY
2005
‘The Expression of Music Through Art’, Buckingham Hotel, New York, NY
‘The Buckingham Prize’, The New York Studio School, NY
‘Buckingham Competition’, Art Students League, New York, NY
2004
‘Holiday Show’, The New York Studio School, NY
2001
‘Lotto Ticket Series’, Lily Pad, Brooklyn, NY
2000
‘Recent Paintings’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1999
‘Drawing & Painting’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1998
‘Alumni Arts Show’, Vera List Gallery, Swarthmore College, PA
Grants & Scholarships
2008 & 2010 Nominee for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial
2007 Visual Arts Foundation Grant
2006 Vermont Studio Center Artist Scholarship
2006 Robert Eric Farmer Scholarship
2005 The Buckingham Prize for the Expression of Music in Art
2005 LCU Foundation Grant
2004 John Lockwood Memorial Fellowship
1993 The Eugene Lang Scholarship for Community Service
Residencies
Governor’s Island Workshop, New York, NY, June-July 2007
LIC Space Artists Studios, Queens, NY, September 2006- 2007
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, December 2006
Triangle International Artists’ Workshop, Brooklyn, NY, October 1-15 2006
Press
“Editor’s Pick: Malado Baldwin at Nolita’s OpenHouse Gallery,” by David Cohen, Artcritical.com, June 12, 2011
“Apartment Shows, A Trend I Hope Keeps Growing,” by Hrag Vartanian, Hyperallergic.com, October 28, 2010
“Artist Profile: Malado Baldwin,” ChungkitBlog.com, March 21, 2010
“THE BRUCENNIAL, Piece by Piece,” Hyperallergic.com, March 17, 2010
“Pic of the day” by David Cohen: Artcritical.com, June 16, 2009
“Twenty-Five Painters Under Thirty-Five” by John Yau, Exhibition Essay, 35/25: The Painting Center, NY June 2009
“Lattices and Grids of Abstraction” by Greg Lindquist, Brochure Essay, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, May 2009
“Hypothetical Landscapes at Janet Kurnatowski Gallery” by Justin Terry, artcritical.com, May 2009
“Party at Phong’s House Starts with a Plan for a Party & a Love of Abstract Art” by Hrag Vartanian, art:21.com, September 2008
“Buckingham Hotel Announces Winners” Art Business News, February 2006, p. 24
“Buckingham Prize” ArtNet.com, March 2006
“Hype Art—Malado Baldwin” by Tunyaporn Hongtong. Esquire Magazine, Thailand, September 2005, pp. 52-54
Related Experience
LCU Foundation Board Member- “Providing housing grants to women pursuing educations in fields that benefit their communities.” The first Alumni to be on the Board: Nominated February 2011
Curator- “Where have You Been” Pop-Up Apartment Show, Soho, NY January 2011
Visiting Artist & Moderator- “Where the Urgency is” Triangle Arts Workshop, NY, September 2010
Freelance Editorial -Rizzoli International Publications, New York NY 2002-present
Art Director - Independent Film, TV, Photo, Live Events, 1997- Present
Workshop Leader- “Bringing Out the Creative in the Executive”- Unilever Corporation, NJ, Nov 2010
Panelist- with Moderator Art Critic Mario Naves -The Painting Center, NY June 2009
Curator- LCU Foundation Spring Showcase, New York Academy of Art, NY May 2008
Benefit Art Auction Organizer- The New York Studio School, NY 2004 - 2005
Photographers’ Representative- Achard & Associates, New York, NY 2003-2004
Art handler- Merton D. Simpson African Art Gallery, NY 1998-2000
Assistant Teacher- The School of Visual Arts Liberty Partnership Program, NY 1996-1997
Gallery assistant & Event Hostess- Vera List Gallery, Swarthmore, PA 1995-1997
Education
2006 MFA in Painting, The New York Studio School, NY
1997 BA in Comparative Literature: French/English, with Film Studies & Fine Art, Swarthmore College, PA
Solo Shows
2009 ‘Strange Places’, Greenpoint Industrial Center, Brooklyn, NY
2006 ‘Landscapes and Abstractions’, KeyHole Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2005 ‘Recent Figures’, KeyHole Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2000 ‘Underground Rail Road Series’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1999 ‘New Works’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1997 ‘Holy Grail and Other Works’, Griffin Gallery, Swarthmore, PA
1993 ‘Duchampian’, Visual Arts Center, Wheaton, MD
Group Shows
2011
‘The Cold Majesty of the Numb’, Fireside Follies, Brooklyn Fireproof Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
‘Inside & Out: New Works on Paper by Jason Lujan & Malado Baldwin’, Triangle Gallery 111 Front, Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
‘Video Konstfestival/Audio Visual Loop Party’, Magasinet, Falun, Sweden
‘A Failed Entertainment’, Virginia Commonwealth University, VA,traveling to: Land of Tomorrow, Louisville, KY
‘Single Fare 2’: Sloan Fine Art, New York, NY
‘Where Have You Been?’ Pop-Up Apartment Show, Soho, NY
‘PAPER 2011’: Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
‘Decameron: David Cohen’s Decade of Exhibitions at the Studio School’, The New York Studio School, NY
‘THE BRUCENNIAL 2010: Miseducation’, Soho, NY
‘Last Exit to Brooklyn’, Pop-Up Apartment Show, Brooklyn, NY
‘Nude with a Goose: Essential’, Pop-Up Space, Chelsea, NY
‘I Heart Art’, Work Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
‘Momenta Benefit’, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY
‘Single Fare: Metrocard Show’, Brooklyn, NY
‘Greenpoint Gallery: Spring Salon’, Brooklyn, NY
‘Pairs’, North Water Street Gallery, Kent, OH
‘Selected Works on Paper’, Perimeter Gallery, Cleveland, OH
‘International Juried Show’, Juror David Cohen, Rogue Gallery, New York, NY
2009
‘A Very Long House’, The Last Supper Festival, 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY
‘The Longhouse Project’, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
‘Hypothetical Landscapes’, Janet Kurnatowski, Brooklyn, NY
‘The Wassaic Project Festival’, Wassaic, NY
‘Open City’, Curated by Sean Scully, The New York Studio School, NY
‘35/25 Painting Center Invitational’, The Painting Center, New York, NY
‘Annual Juried Show’, Juror Susanna Coffey, Prince St Gallery, New York, NY
2008
‘Boson Exotic’, Rupert Ravens Contemporary, Newark, NJ
‘Party at Phong’s House’, Curated by Chris Martin, Janet Kurnatowski, Brooklyn, NY
‘LCU Foundation Spring Showcase’, The New York Academy of Art, NY
2007
‘Night of 1,000 Drawings’, The Artists Space, NY
‘Triangle Foundation Dumbo Arts Festival 25’, Brooklyn, NY
‘Governor’s Island Series’, The New York Studio School, NY
‘This Far and No Further’, LIC Artists Space, Long Island City, NY
‘View From Brooklyn’, Vera List Gallery, Swarthmore College, PA
‘LCU Foundation Show’, The Symphony Space, NY
2006
‘Sounds for a Large Space’, LIC Artists Space, Long Island City, NY
‘Triangle Artists Workshop’, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY
‘M.F.A. Thesis Painting Show’, The New York Studio School, NY
2005
‘The Expression of Music Through Art’, Buckingham Hotel, New York, NY
‘The Buckingham Prize’, The New York Studio School, NY
‘Buckingham Competition’, Art Students League, New York, NY
2004
‘Holiday Show’, The New York Studio School, NY
2001
‘Lotto Ticket Series’, Lily Pad, Brooklyn, NY
2000
‘Recent Paintings’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1999
‘Drawing & Painting’, Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
1998
‘Alumni Arts Show’, Vera List Gallery, Swarthmore College, PA
Grants & Scholarships
2008 & 2010 Nominee for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial
2007 Visual Arts Foundation Grant
2006 Vermont Studio Center Artist Scholarship
2006 Robert Eric Farmer Scholarship
2005 The Buckingham Prize for the Expression of Music in Art
2005 LCU Foundation Grant
2004 John Lockwood Memorial Fellowship
1993 The Eugene Lang Scholarship for Community Service
Residencies
Governor’s Island Workshop, New York, NY, June-July 2007
LIC Space Artists Studios, Queens, NY, September 2006- 2007
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, December 2006
Triangle International Artists’ Workshop, Brooklyn, NY, October 1-15 2006
Press
“Editor’s Pick: Malado Baldwin at Nolita’s OpenHouse Gallery,” by David Cohen, Artcritical.com, June 12, 2011
“Apartment Shows, A Trend I Hope Keeps Growing,” by Hrag Vartanian, Hyperallergic.com, October 28, 2010
“Artist Profile: Malado Baldwin,” ChungkitBlog.com, March 21, 2010
“THE BRUCENNIAL, Piece by Piece,” Hyperallergic.com, March 17, 2010
“Pic of the day” by David Cohen: Artcritical.com, June 16, 2009
“Twenty-Five Painters Under Thirty-Five” by John Yau, Exhibition Essay, 35/25: The Painting Center, NY June 2009
“Lattices and Grids of Abstraction” by Greg Lindquist, Brochure Essay, Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, May 2009
“Hypothetical Landscapes at Janet Kurnatowski Gallery” by Justin Terry, artcritical.com, May 2009
“Party at Phong’s House Starts with a Plan for a Party & a Love of Abstract Art” by Hrag Vartanian, art:21.com, September 2008
“Buckingham Hotel Announces Winners” Art Business News, February 2006, p. 24
“Buckingham Prize” ArtNet.com, March 2006
“Hype Art—Malado Baldwin” by Tunyaporn Hongtong. Esquire Magazine, Thailand, September 2005, pp. 52-54
Related Experience
LCU Foundation Board Member- “Providing housing grants to women pursuing educations in fields that benefit their communities.” The first Alumni to be on the Board: Nominated February 2011
Curator- “Where have You Been” Pop-Up Apartment Show, Soho, NY January 2011
Visiting Artist & Moderator- “Where the Urgency is” Triangle Arts Workshop, NY, September 2010
Freelance Editorial -Rizzoli International Publications, New York NY 2002-present
Art Director - Independent Film, TV, Photo, Live Events, 1997- Present
Workshop Leader- “Bringing Out the Creative in the Executive”- Unilever Corporation, NJ, Nov 2010
Panelist- with Moderator Art Critic Mario Naves -The Painting Center, NY June 2009
Curator- LCU Foundation Spring Showcase, New York Academy of Art, NY May 2008
Benefit Art Auction Organizer- The New York Studio School, NY 2004 - 2005
Photographers’ Representative- Achard & Associates, New York, NY 2003-2004
Art handler- Merton D. Simpson African Art Gallery, NY 1998-2000
Assistant Teacher- The School of Visual Arts Liberty Partnership Program, NY 1996-1997
Gallery assistant & Event Hostess- Vera List Gallery, Swarthmore, PA 1995-1997
Round Again, 2010Acrylic on canvas,
48 x 48 inches
Epic Journey, 2001-2010Mixed media and collage on foam core,
48 x 48 inches
Throne, 2011Acrylic and oil on canvas,
84 x 59 inches
Seat of Power (Home is where the heart is), 2010Mixed media on magazine cover,
11 x 8 inches
Looking Out (Namibian cave painting), 2011Acrylic and oil on canvas,
48 x 84 inches
Detail of: Looking Out (Namibian cave painting), 2011
Anticipated Ruins, 2010Acrylic on canvas,
94 x 56 inches
Closer than you think? 2010Mixed media and collage on paper,
20 x 20 "
Animist’s Vision, 2010Acrylic and oil on canvas,
52 x 84 inches
Detail of: Animist’s Vision, 2010
Shelter from the Storm, 2011Acrylic and oil on canvas,
52 x 90 inches
Detail of: Shelter from the Storm, 2011
Bones of the Whale, 2010Acrylic on canvas,
32 x 48 inches
Crucifixion in Two Parts: The Absence,Acrylic and pencil on paper,2009
12 x 24 inches
Let me in your cavernous heart, 2010Marker and pen on paper,
12 x 9 inches
Ruins of the Claudian aqueducts, 2010Marker and pen on paper,
12 x 9 inches
Gulf of Slides, 2010Mixed media and collage on paper,
30 x 40 inches
Brewing, 2001-2010Mixed media and collage on foam core,
48 x 48 inches
How to build a Longhouse, 2010Mixed media and collage on book,
14 x 9 inches
Spectacle, 2010Collage on paper,
12 x 10 inches