Madeline Shinn Boyle is a Montana-based artist best known for her ephemeral multi-medium depictions of human figures and her study with the horizontal line. In her series “Crowd,” she used large scale sheets of paper, handmade using traditional Japanese methods, and layers of charcoal, wax, paint, and other materials. The panels are hung from the ceiling, creating the feeling of walking through a crowd. Expressing the human condition is a consistent theme in her work, and her interest in natural materials has led Madeline to experiment with mediums, such as encaustic, or hot wax painting, on wood, combined with paint and charcoal. In her most recent collections, such as her horizontal lines series, Madeline's work explores the soothing effects of repetition and the psychological relationship with the horizontal line.
Born in Gretna, Nebraska, a farming community on the outskirts of Omaha, Madeline moved south to complete a bachelor’s degree in fine art at Auburn University in Alabama. During her college years, she spent a summer abroad in Italy, studying art in the historic Tuscan village of Cortona. Upon graduating she left the small towns behind to join the internship program at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York City. Finding the need for more space and quiet after the whirlwind of the city, the artist then moved to Montana. She now lives in Whitefish, Montana with her husband and daughter.