Headwaters
Mark Oldland & Lisa Madson
January 22 - March 1, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 25 from 6-8pm
with an Artist Talk at 6:30pm
In parallel practices, Mark Oldland and Lisa Madson have investigated the functions, pathways, and symbolism of running water for years. Coming to Atlantic Highlands this winter, they share space and conversation on their processes and techniques in a new exhibit that reflects on the Headwaters that unite them. Lisa Madson(a member of the International Nature Printing Society) often incorporates prints made directly from natural elements, such as seaweed, fossils, bark, fish, and plants. Mark explores printmaking and painting as a means to investigate his ongoing fascination and interaction with moving water.
Mark Oldland
As an autistic individual my paintings and drawings are an illustration of my social range. On one end there are the most abstract works where the brush strokes are aggressive, bold and seemingly uncontrolled. In these works, the logic and reason is more attributable to me and how I understand and see the world. On the opposite side when I work in and around social norms I see and create more representational paintings and drawings, with elements of how I prefer to see and interpret the world still being evident. It is my intent that by working within range to provide a positive social commentary for autistic individuals and promote inclusion for anyone who may be perceived as being different.
Mark Oldland is an autistic adult who resides in Hillsborough, NJ. As an artist, he strives to positively promote the abilities of autistic individuals by using his artwork to promote inclusion for autistic individuals and the neurodivergent community.
Mark received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in the Spring of 2000. Mark’s early works were heavily influenced by his fascination and interaction with moving water. As a result, his art career took a non-traditional turn when he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in order to further his understanding of moving water. His service time included patrols on the Bering Sea and South Pacific while he continued to paint and draw the impacts of the environment he was observing. His experiences in the Coast Guard then unexpectedly led him to pursue a career with the Environmental Protection Agency in Emergency Response. This atypical path has pushed his artwork outward from his early comfort zone of analytical abstraction to explore his relationship with the representational world which, as an autistic individual, Mark finds abstract. This newfound range from one extreme to the other is the basis for his current art exploration, wherein he creates artwork to illustrate his “Spectrum” to the world. Through this work, he hopes to enlighten the public about the many abilities autistic people have to offer.
Lisa Madson
Lisa Madson is from New Jersey and studied at Montclair University. Further classes at the Printmaking Center of New Jersey (now Frontline Arts) about the art of the print led to her connection with the Nature Printing Society, an international organization specializing in printmaking directly from nature. This technique of printing fish, insects, trees, etc. has allowed Madson to focus on up-close views of nature as we see it every day, combined with the philosophy of humanity’s place in the world.
Madson has gained recognition in galleries and museums in the tri-state area, and her exhibitions have received attention from various reviewers, having been featured in New Jersey Stage, Bridgewater Lifestyle Magazine, Skylands Magazine, and Nature Printing Society quarterly.
Exhibitions at various venues include:
Atlantic Highlands Arts Council
The Noyse Museum
LBIF invitational
John James Audubon center, PA
New Jersey Highlands Coalition
Hunterton Art Museum
Monmouth Art Museum
Freelinghuysen Arboretum
Frontline Arts
She currently works as a teaching artist sharing with others the art of nature printing.
