Under brooding clouds and amidst vast, verdant parklands, the whimsical structures of Lee Madgwick evoke an unsettling atmosphere. His surreal artwork showcases crumbling exteriors and peculiar flora, set against an expanse of heavy gray skiesāeach piece usually reveals something slightly bizarre beneath the surface.
Take “Drift,” for instance, where bricks tumble from a stark building, levitating skyward one at a time, while “Fracture” presents a weight-defying apartment complex that begins to disintegrate from its base. Madgwickās rural paintings pay homage to landscapes and structures often neglected, infusing them with what he terms āa hint of mischievous menace.ā
Dark humor weaves through Madgwick’s works, as seen in “Echoes,” where an incomplete building appears to have been swept away by a now-tranquil stream, leaving behind a staircase fashioned into a waterslide.
Despite the absence of people, their presence can be felt through graffiti on walls and drawn curtains in the windows, suggesting life once existed in these spaces. Madgwick’s more recent collection explores āthe mysterious and melancholic essence of seemingly forgotten and isolated structures beneath turbulent skies,ā he shares with Colossal.
You can view the artist’s work at the Brian Sinfield Gallery in Burford, Oxfordshire, from October 18 to November 4. For more on Madgwickās creations, visit his website or follow him on Instagram.
