Shane McAdams
Shane’s body of work explores the unpredictable nature of materials and process, where chance and control intersect to create paintings that feel both deliberate and spontaneous.
McAdams writes, “I’m bent on, probably obsessed with, bending the potential of materials to do certain things that I hope will create compositional opportunities that are surprising, weird, uncanny, big and small at the same time.” Each work reflects this pursuit—gestures and chemistry colliding to reveal moments that are vivid, layered, and alive in the moment, like nature caught mid-transformation.
Shane McAdams is an artist, writer, and curator based between Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and Brooklyn, New York. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including shows at Marlborough, Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, Scream London, the Haggerty Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Art Center. He has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Marian University, and the University of Wisconsin, and is a partner at REAL TINSEL, an artist-run space on Milwaukee’s South Side.y.
Double Stuff Ballpoint pen and resin on muslin over panel. 2025. 24 x 24 in.
Dinner at Noon Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 16 x 16 in.
La La Lipstick Oil on canvas over panel. 2025. 48 x 48 in.
Pasiano Hash Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 16 x 16 in.
Aphid Fingers Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 12 x 12 in.
New World Veggie Ballpoint pen, resin, and oil on linen over panel. 2025. 48 x 48 in.
Free Vests Oil on canvas over panel. 2025. 36 x 32 in.
Diplomatic Range Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 16 x 16 in.
Space Pants Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 12 x 12 in.
Sandfill Oil on canvas over panel. 2025.
19 x 26 in.
Intuitive Negligence Elmer’s glue, oil, and acrylic on canvas over panel. 2025. 32 x 36 in.
Nervous Shopper Ballpoint pen, oil, and resin on canvas over panel. 2025. 48 x 48 in.
Funkirk Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 16 x 16 in.
Barely Esquire Ballpoint pen and resin on linen over panel. 2025. 22 x 16 in.
Grant’s Pass Oil on linen over panel. 2025. 34 x 42 in.
Ballet Rouses Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 16 x 16 in.
Belgian Opera Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 16 x 16 in.
Heart on the Outside Ballpoint pen and resin over panel. 2025. 22 x 16 in.