Welcome to Homespun, an exhibition of work by Ballarat based artist Madeleine Cruise. Opening March 28, 2025
One of my first memories of seeing Madeleine's work was at Ballarat Art Gallery. It was a truly impressive exhibition which occupied a very large room within the gallery. The colours were so lovely and the way she captured the subject matter really caught my eye. Fast forward to launching the Gallery Space at Shop Gal, and Madeleine Cruise was an obvious choice to launch the new space.
For this exhibition Madeleine has curated a salon of paintings made between 2019 – 2024 that share the theme of home and storytelling. Hovering between abstraction and representation these works are rich in symbolism that pull on memory and prompt recollection. Working from her home studio - the line between domestic life and studio practice is often blurred and can be seen in the still life imagery and interior scenes that are playfully reconfigured and layered. With everyday life used as a point of departure, these paintings are whimsical and embellished. Curious objects and figures are plotted in the compositions like actors on a stage and allow the audience to piece together their own story.
Bright colour, expressive line and imaginative compositions
Artist Biography:
Born in Camden in 1987, Madeleine Cruise is an Australian artist who lives and works in Ballarat Victoria. Madeleine graduated with first class honours in Painting from the National Art School Sydney in 2009 and has been exhibiting in group and solo shows in commercial, not for profit and public art galleries for the past fourteen years. Her development has been supported by studio residencies in Australia and Canada and her work selected for juried art prizes across Australia, including the Brett Whiteley Travelling art Scholarship and the National Still Life Award. Madeleine’s work is part of private and public collections in Australia, Canada and the UK including Artbank Australia. Publications include Galah Magazine Edition 11.
We really enjoyed how the clothing and artworks shared some favourite colours.
Lot's of events in store for customers to enjoy while viewing Madeline's work.
We celebrated the work of Madeline Cruise in store, and had a wonderful time!
Enjoying the salon
A peek through the window
Thank you to Madeleine for a wonderful exhibition and these photos
See more of her work at