Following the 2007 Annual Meeting of the membership of the
American Swedish Historical Museum, the special exibition
Madeleine Hatz: Building a View was opened with a gallery talk by the artist

From September 16, 2007 to January 13, 2008 the American Swedish Historical Museum featured the work of artist Madeleine Hatz. Born in Lund, Sweden, Madeleine Hatz grew up in Stockholm, where she was inspired to study art by her father. Felix Hatz was a painter who had come to Sweden in the 1920's from Vienna, Austria. Ingel Bonde Hatz , Madeleine Hatz's mother, was a classical archaeologist with roots in Södermanland, the oldest agricultural area in Sweden.  Madeleine Hatz studied at Lund University, The Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm, and the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, France.  In 1980, after graduating with a Masters of Fine Art, she came to New York. Hatz lives and works in Brooklyn, and maintains a small cottage and painting studio near Ericsberg Lake in the Swedish countryside. Madeleine Hatz exhibits internationally and is a Guest Lecturer at the Frank Mohr Institute in the Netherlands. 

The beautiful multimedia exhibition Madeleine Hatz: Building a View surveyed seven years of the artist's work and focused primarily on paintings. “Red Bricks Flying," a large abstract composition in vibrant red/orange and ochre oil paint,was displayed at the United Nations for one year while Swedish diplomat Jan Eliasson was President of the 60th Session. "Melancholia" is a series of small and medium-sized oil paintings on burlap, in a palette ranging from neutral earth tones to deep blues. "First Palettes" are works on paper with textures and vibrant colors inspired by summer in a Northern country.

Projections of the artist's video recordings enhanced the multi-sensory exhibition at the American Swedish Historical Museum. Footage of "The Bricklayer's Palette," a 27 minute video shot in New York in the months preceding 9/11, captivated visitors.  Documentary photographs and a miniature model of a construction of ruins in the Netherlands complemented the thought-provoking show.

The "artist's statements" address art's aspirations for idealism, a search for cultural identity and language. Click here to visit Madeleine Hatz's site>>

The exhibition Madeleine Hatz: Building a View wass supported by a generous gift from the ASHM Midsommarklubben. Additional support came from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and an anonymous foundation.