Madeline Young, photograph by Kirsten Cunningham.

Madeline Young 

Artist | Curator

Madeline Young is an Australian abstract artist based in Orange, NSW, on Wiradjuri Country. Her paintings emerge through an instinctive process, shaped by shifting emotions, seasonal change, and the character of the landscapes around her. She doesn’t begin with a fixed outcome; instead, each work evolves through gesture, colour, and response - an ongoing conversation between painter and canvas.

She works with brushes, palette knives, rollers, and other unconventional tools to build textures, patterns, and marks across the surface. Palettes often return to soft pinks, muted greens, and earthy browns, yet are interrupted by unexpected tones - deep blues, sudden warmths - that capture the unpredictability of memory and experience. These choices are not simply aesthetic but emotional, a record of moments felt as much as seen.

Madeline’s work is less about representing place than distilling its presence. Her abstractions invite viewers into a sensory space where time, landscape, and emotion overlap - echoes of drought, renewal, quiet afternoons, or charged, fleeting moments. In this way, her paintings become both deeply personal and universally resonant, offering a point of connection through colour and form.

Madeline holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Newcastle (2009) and has exhibited widely across Australia in solo and group exhibitions. Since 2014, she has also been the Curator and Director of The Corner Store Gallery, an independent art space in Orange dedicated to supporting and showcasing emerging contemporary artists from across the country. This ongoing curatorial work continues to inspire and inform her own practice, fostering dialogue, community, and connection within the arts.

Artist CV

EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Newcastle, 2007-2009

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • After the Fire, 2020, M16 Artspace, Canberra

  • The Light is Different Here, 2019, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • NATIVE, 2016, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Noise, 2014, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Impressions of Light, 2011, The Old Convent, Borenore

  • Escape, 2009, Watt Space, Newcastle

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • Fifty Squared Art Prize, 2025, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne

  • Crossing Paths: A Gallery Exchange, 2025, Sydney Road Gallery, Balgowlah

  • Paradise Gloss, 2024, Side Gallery, Brisbane

  • End of Year Award Show, 2024, Off the Kerb Gallery, Melbourne

  • Leave a Trace, 2024, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Arts OutWest Today, 2024, Arts OutWest, Forbes

  • An Ode to Pink, 2023, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • BRAG Art Fair, 2023, Bathurst Regional Gallery, Bathurst

  • Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award Finalist, 2023, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane

  • 50 Squared Art Prize Finalist, 2023, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne

  • Painting Pattern, 2023, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne

  • Stable Artist, 2022, Paper Pear Gallery, Wagga Wagga

  • Stable Artist, 2022, Gallery of Small Things, Canberra

  • Here/Now, 2022, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange

  • 50 Squared Art Prize Finalist, 2022, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne

  • The Affordable Art Fair Melbourne, 2022, Jumbled

  • FLORA, 2022, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • BLOOD, 2022, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • We Are 4, 2021, Sydney Road Gallery, Bagowlah

  • The Colour Addition, 2021, Weswal Gallery, Tamworth

  • End of Year Group Show, 2020, Jumbled, Orange

  • THIS PLACE, 2020, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Feature Artist, 2020, Gallery of Small Things, Canberra

  • Stable Artist, 2020, Paper Pear Gallery, Wagga Wagga

  • Finalist Little Things Art Prize, 2020, Saint Cloche, Paddington

  • Feature Artist, 2020, Jumbled Online, Orange

  • ABSTRACT, 2020, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Silver Linings, 2020, The Peisley Street Gallery, Orange

  • “Gallery Swap” Exhibition, 2020, Gallery of Small Things, Canberra

  • Locals Only, 2020, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • 8x10 Group Exhibition, 2020, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Little Things Art Prize, 2019, Saint Cloche, Sydney

  • One Night Stand, 2019, The Building, Orange

  • Here/Now, 2019, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange

  • Harvest, 2019, The Peisley Street Gallery, Orange

  • Fifty Squared Art Prize, 2019, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne

  • BLUE Group Exhibition, 2018, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Just a Square Group Exhibition, 2018, Darling Mills Studio Gallery, Mittagong

  • 100 Mile Exhibition, 2017, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange

  • Cider Inspired Art, 2016, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Works on Paper, 2015, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • The Pop-Up Show, 2014, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Group Show at ArtHive, 2010, Newcastle

CURATION

  • Gallery Director and Curator of The Corner Store Gallery, Orange

  • Founder and Director of The Journey Person Collective, Central West NSW

  • Editioned, Curated Exhibition, 2016, Orange Regional Gallery, Orange

OTHER RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

  • Board member for Arts Outwest, 2018 to 2024, Central West NSW

Madeline Young, Australian contemporary abstract artist.

Madeline Young, Australian abstract artist.