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Madeline von Foerster
Madeline von Foerster – Artist Statement
Executed in the oil and egg tempera mische technique developed by the Flemish Masters, these paintings allude to Renaissance sources in both method and style. A strong influence from the School of Fontainebleau loans an aura of mystery and otherworldliness to the artworks. The paintings often resemble Wunderkammern – Enlightenment era “cabinets of curiosities,” where the wonders of nature were collected and displayed. Surrealistic elements also often occur, though in the service of meaning and metaphor, rather than for oddity's sake.
Meaning and beauty are the twin impulses expressed in the work, with neither sacrificed to the other. Concepts are developed and drafted in detail, often involving weeks of research and drawing for a single painting. Flora and fauna, which appear in nearly every painting, are rendered with reverence and exactitude. Photographic references are always interpolated through the filter of the artistic process, being drawn via eye alone -- never projected or traced -- which adds to a visual impression of timelessness.
In subject matter, however, the work is staked firmly to the present day. Humanity's relationship with nature provides an impassioned narrative, with such topics as deforestation and human-caused extinction sounding a recurring thematic knell. The ironic detachment of much contemporary art is challenged, in favor of intimacy, knowledge, and connection. The artworks could be described as “living” still-lifes, which intentionally use the motifs of that genre to explore our assumptions about ownership and objectification of nature.
But on a deeper level, they are visual altars for our imperiled natural world.
ORCHID CABINET
2014
24 x 32 in.
61 x 81 cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2014
24 x 32 in.
61 x 81 cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
LOVESTORY
2014
12 x 14 in.
30.5 x 40.5cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2014
12 x 14 in.
30.5 x 40.5cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
CARNIVAL INSECTIVORA
(CABINET FOR CORNELL AND HAECKEL)
2013
16 x 20 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
(CABINET FOR CORNELL AND HAECKEL)
2013
16 x 20 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
EBONY CABINET
2013
16 x 20 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2013
16 x 20 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
COLLECTION CABINET (DRAWING)
2013
24 X 24 in.
Chalk and colored pencil on museum board, heightened with acrylic
2013
24 X 24 in.
Chalk and colored pencil on museum board, heightened with acrylic
UNTITLED (PANGOLIN)
2012
36 x 36 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
UNTITLED (BLACKBIRD)
2012
12 x 16 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2012
12 x 16 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
THE PROMISE II
2012
16 x 20 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2012
16 x 20 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
THE TALE OF THE GOLDEN TOAD
2011
24 in. x 36 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2011
24 in. x 36 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
FROG CABINET
2011
18 x 24 in
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2011
18 x 24 in
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
2011
20 x 28 in
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2011
20 x 28 in
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
THE COLLECTION CABINET
2011
27 x 27 in.
Oil and Egg Tempera on Panel
Private Collection
2011
27 x 27 in.
Oil and Egg Tempera on Panel
Private Collection
"Madeline von Foerster is a very gifted and highly original artist, who brings new imagery and a novel approach to conservation -- which we need." - Edward O. Wilson
To create her unusual paintings, Madeline von Foerster uses a five century-old mixed technique of oil and egg tempera, developed by the Flemish Renaissance Masters. Although linked stylistically to the past, her paintings are passionately relevant to the present, as such timely themes as deforestation, endangered species, and war find expression in her work.
Von Foerster's artworks are in collections around the world and have been featured in numerous publications, including "100 Painters of Tomorrow" (Thames and Hudson, 2014). She was also the subject of a television portrait on ARTE's "Metropolis," broadcast in Germany and France. Her upcoming solo exhibition, "Uprooted," will be presented at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland, and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. Born in San Francisco, von Foerster studied art in California, Germany and Austria. After fifteen years in New York City, she now resides in Germany with her husband. Website: www.madelinevonfoerster.com
To create her unusual paintings, Madeline von Foerster uses a five century-old mixed technique of oil and egg tempera, developed by the Flemish Renaissance Masters. Although linked stylistically to the past, her paintings are passionately relevant to the present, as such timely themes as deforestation, endangered species, and war find expression in her work.
Von Foerster's artworks are in collections around the world and have been featured in numerous publications, including "100 Painters of Tomorrow" (Thames and Hudson, 2014). She was also the subject of a television portrait on ARTE's "Metropolis," broadcast in Germany and France. Her upcoming solo exhibition, "Uprooted," will be presented at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland, and the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno. Born in San Francisco, von Foerster studied art in California, Germany and Austria. After fifteen years in New York City, she now resides in Germany with her husband. Website: www.madelinevonfoerster.com
NY ALANTSIKA
2011
14.75 x 19.25 in.
Oil and Egg Tempera on Panel
Private Collection
2011
14.75 x 19.25 in.
Oil and Egg Tempera on Panel
Private Collection
EX MARE
2010
36 in. x 39 in. (76cm x 99cm)
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2010
36 in. x 39 in. (76cm x 99cm)
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
THE RED THREAD
2010
48 x 62 in / 122 x 158 cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2010
48 x 62 in / 122 x 158 cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
JEWELS
2010
8 in. x 10 in. (20cm x 25cm)
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2010
8 in. x 10 in. (20cm x 25cm)
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
RELIQUARY FOR SAARTJIE
2010
18 in. x 21 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2010
18 in. x 21 in.
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
MY DARLINGTONIA
2009
16 X 20 in
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2009
16 X 20 in
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
WHALE (Drawing)
2009
9 x 12in.
colored pencil on paper
Private Collection
2009
9 x 12in.
colored pencil on paper
Private Collection
Rite of Remembrance
2008
11 x 13.25 in.
28 x 34 cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection
2008
11 x 13.25 in.
28 x 34 cm
Oil and egg tempera on panel
Private Collection