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 abstract artist.