Reginald Madison

Reginald Madison (b. 1941, Chicago, IL – d. 2026, Hudson, NY) emerged as a self-taught painter and sculptor whose unwavering commitment to his practice produced a multidimensional and singular body of work. Deeply inspired by avant-garde musicians like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sun Ra, Madison approached mark-making with the restless spontaneity of a bebop solo. He worked across heavily textured canvases, found wood sculpture, and assemblage, translating the syncopated rhythms of experimental jazz into a distinctly improvisational visual language. From the psychologically charged figuration and bold color of his earlier paintings to the shifting grids of his more recent abstractions, the mechanical pulse of Madison’s Chicago youth –– spent working at U.S. Steel’s massive Southworks plant –– beats throughout his work. 

The artist's first comprehensive monograph–a project that Reginald proudly participated in during its production– is co-published by Uffner & Liu and SEPTEMBER Gallery. This monograph features selections of Reginald Madison's work from the 1960’s to today, alongside an essay by art critic Seph Rodey and an artist interview with Chicago historian Rebbecca Zorach that gives light to the artist's life and the historic contexts in which he worked.