Audrey Bialke
Audrey Bialke (b. 1991) paints representational oil paintings that meld historical imagery, mythic iconography, and ecological storytelling. Bialke’s intimate paintings feature historical renderings of animals and fantastical creatures in conversation with everyday objects and the pastoral landscapes of her upbringing, exploring the link between magical worlds and mundane realities. She surrounds her scenes with elaborate borders that echo folk art and domestic patterning, bringing intellectual reverence to decoration. Bialke has exhibited with Harsh Collective (Brooklyn), One River School (Westport, CT), RAINRAIN (New York), Ambar Quijano (Mexico City), Lane Meyer Projects (Denver), Standing Gallery (Long Island City), and SPRING/BREAK Art Show (2022, 2023, 2025). Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Hyperallergic, New Visionary Collective, Artnet News, and Two Coats of Paint. She lives and works in Trumansburg, NY.
Artist Statement
My work pulls imagery from historic sources as a practice of integrating old with new and recognizing how the past informs the present. Most recently, I have been looking at American folk art and decoration, but I have borrowed imagery from many different eras in European history, most frequently from Illuminated Manuscripts. I lend my own interpretation to the reference material I find, often with a tone of melancholia, and pair this imagery with mundane domestic objects like antiques and the landscapes that surround me in Upstate New York. What we are can be mirrored in the things we have created and the beauty of the natural world.
My color choices are influenced by the seasons I am living in and are largely intuitive, creating unexpected harmony. While I have personal ideas regarding the narratives of each piece, I am also interested in how the viewer finds connections in the seemingly disparate imagery and what ultimately emotionally resonates with them. My goal is to create paintings akin to abstract poetry: difficult to parse in a linear sense and infused with subtle mystery. Spending time with the pieces grants rewards as they begin to reveal their secrets.
In my latest paintings, I have been thinking about how art might have the unique ability to help us visualize and understand time as non-linear. Isolated items float in landscapes surrounded by meticulous borders, supporting the idea that everything exists at once and nothing is truly separate. Feeling and understanding connection gives life meaning. The animals and objects that I paint have their own inherent narratives, which, when linked with my own experiences, create images that loosely discuss conflict, both interpersonal and at large, explorations in how to live in tumultuous modern times, and a desire for deeper connectedness to nature.
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