NEWSLETTER
Exhibition Dates: July 18–October 11, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 18, 2026, 5–7 PM
Hudson, NY — Hudson Hall is proud to present Reginald Madison: Caravan, an exhibition of works by the late Hudson-based artist Reginald Madison (1941–2026). Curated by SEPTEMBER Gallery and originally planned in collaboration with the artist, the exhibition honors Madison’s six-decade practice; his lifelong relationship to jazz and improvisation; and his enduring presence in Hudson’s artistic community. The exhibition opens July 18 with an opening reception from 5–7 PM and is on view through October 11, 2026.
“Just as a jazz soloist cuts away conventional melody to reveal the sheer creative force of untrammeled chord changes, Madison creates a relentless, sideways energy by letting his every gesture lead freshly to the next,” wrote Will Heinrich in The New York Times in a 2024 review of Madison’s solo exhibition Lucid Dreamer.
That sense of motion gives this Hudson Hall exhibition, Caravan, its title and its spirit. It points to Madison’s characteristic way of making: moving without a fixed destination, allowing one idea, gesture, or material to lead to the next. Developed with Madison before his passing earlier this year, the exhibition reflects the artist's vision while celebrating his longstanding relationship with Hudson Hall and the Hudson community. The works on view, including paintings, works on paper, and sculptures built from found and salvaged materials, many of them revised and reworked over time, reflect this improvisational approach.
Highlights include wall sculptures composed of wood from a defunct local factory; two series of abstract works on paper, including the 1990s suite In a Silent Way, titled after Miles Davis’s 1969 studio album; and Caravan, a never-before-exhibited 1986 painting of a live ensemble. The exhibition remains on view during the 2026 Hudson Jazz Festival, October 2–4.
Born on the South Side of Chicago in 1941, Reginald Madison emerged from the Black Arts Movement as a self-taught artist whose path was defined by determination and an unwavering commitment to his practice. As a teenager, he discovered a discarded box of paints, an encounter that sparked a lifelong devotion to making art. From a young age, he was surrounded by musicians, becoming deeply inspired by improvisational jazz, which fueled his instinctive approach in the studio. He later worked at U.S. Steel South Works, taking on extra shifts to support his young family and to fund a formative year of travel in Europe, where he visited museums and galleries in Paris, Munich, and Madrid.
In 1968, Madison had his first public presentation at Art & Soul in Chicago, where he was awarded third place in a competition juried by artist Richard Hunt and curator Jan van der Marck, founding director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. This early recognition affirmed his artistic direction and led him to continue his practice across New York City and Western Massachusetts before ultimately settling in Hudson, New York, where he lived and worked until his passing in 2026.
Madison approached his paintings and sculptures alike with a studied sense of form and the restless spontaneity of a rebellious spirit. Working in both figuration and abstraction, he developed a distinctive palette of earthy, matte tones. He achieved highly textured canvases and panels using an array of tools and materials, including tar, pigment, sponges, brushes, rags, and found materials, with colors often mixed directly on the studio walls. His sculptures were constructed from salvaged wood parts, composed into formidable forms and figures that towered in his studio.
Madison was represented by Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York from 1975 to 2009. SEPTEMBER Gallery began representing him in 2021, followed by Uffner & Liu in 2024. His work has been reviewed twice in The New York Times, including a 2024 review of his solo exhibition Lucid Dreamer, and is held in prominent collections including The Baltimore Museum of Art, the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UC Santa Barbara, and the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. Madison’s work and career have also been included in major scholarship on Chicago’s Black Arts Movement, including Art for People’s Sake: Artists and Community in Black Chicago, 1965–1975 and The Time Is Now! Art Worlds of Chicago’s South Side, 1960–1980. In 2021, Madison was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
Madison’s relationship with Hudson Hall spanned exhibitions, collaborations, and community projects, including Art & Soul, a 2020 exhibition he curated at Hudson Hall featuring work by David Hammons, Tschabalala Self, and others.
"Reggie was a longtime supporter, collaborator, and dear friend of Hudson Hall and of Hudson’s artistic community, and we are deeply honored to celebrate his memory and extraordinary work through this timely exhibition," says Hudson Hall Executive Director Adam Weinert. "Following Madison's passing in May this year, Caravan celebrates an artist whose work and generosity left a lasting imprint on Hudson's cultural life, while introducing new audiences to the remarkable breadth of his practice.”
Exhibition Details:
Reginald Madison: Caravan
Curated by SEPTEMBER Gallery
July 18–October 11, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 18, 2026, 5–7 PM
Hudson Hall
327 Warren Street
Hudson, NY 12534
Gallery Hours:
Wed–Sun: 12–5pm
Closed Mon, Tues, and holidays
For more information, visit hudsonhall.org/event/reginald-
Press Kit
View or download high-resolution images and bio:
hudsonhall.org/press-kit-
About Hudson Hall
hudsonhall.org
Hudson Hall is a cultural beacon in the Hudson Valley, offering a dynamic year-round schedule of music, theater, dance, literature, film, workshops for youth and adults, as well as family programs and signature events such as the Hudson Jazz Festival and the Handel on the Hudson opera series. Built in 1855, Hudson Hall is a landmarked building housing New York State’s oldest surviving theater. @hudsonhallny
About SEPTEMBER
septembergallery.com
SEPTEMBER is an art gallery, an open space, and an on-going practice. We exhibit and support contemporary artists who are committed to their work for life. We believe that being receptive to change is essential to the creative process. We provide a platform for exceptional individuals who have not been historically centered with care because of their inherited, chosen or perceived identities. We engage our local community while exhibiting artists from other cities and countries. We concentrate on visual artists, and collaborate with curators, performers, activists, poets, chefs, writers and other creatives. We opened in Hudson, NY in 2016, and moved to Kinderhook, NY in 2022. Kristen Dodge, Founder/Director, has been running gallery programming for 20 years, from Boston, to the Lower East Side, to Upstate New York.
Image: Reginald Madison, 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰, 2022, oil on salvaged violin parts, clarinet parts, salvaged wood, salvaged metal, salvaged fan guard, canvas, wire, hardware, 64 x 58 inches.