Bridge Work: The Sound That Only I Can Hear

Arts + Literature Laboratory presents The Sound That Only I Can Hear, a show by Maile Lloyd, one of three concurrent solo exhibitions from its prestigious Bridge Work: Madison cohort. This show will run from Thursday, November 19, 2026, through Saturday, January 9, 2027 alongside Family // History by Charlotte Easterling and Processing Powers by Adam Raiford Wilson. There will be an opening reception on Friday, December 4.

The Sound That Only I Can Hear is Madison artist Maile Lloyd's first solo exhibition. The show explores our relationship with self and our environment—especially the natural world—through a series of dreamy paintings. Maile’s paintings are full of color with a touch of magic. She imagines rituals we do internally, counting the steps between sidewalk slabs or framing a key above an entryway.

“When we are alone, we are both in the moment and deeply in our bodies. We are so close to the curtain that separates what we think of as reality from our imagination. This exhibition will pull the curtain aside for a moment.”

Maile Lloyd is a painter and photographer from Madison, Wisconsin. She creates whimsical works that mainly focus on the human form and identity. Maile Lloyd studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received a bachelor's degree in fine art in 2025. Maile has exhibited artworks throughout Madison and as far away as Havana, Cuba. She is a cofounder of the Figurative collective, a community-led group of artists passionate about drawing form and creating shared spaces.

Bridge Work is Madison’s premiere emerging artist program, hosted by Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) since 2017. Bridge Work: Madison is a part of the greater Bridge Work initiative, founded by Jason S. Yi and Leah Kolb, with independent programs in Milwaukee, WI and Lexington, KY. This program selects a group of promising emerging artists from a pool of applicants to benefit from two years of professional development opportunities, culminating in solo exhibitions. Bridge Work aims to forge a more interconnected regional arts ecosystem by uplifting diverse artists who are dedicated to their practices, generating the public exposure necessary for them to successfully network and establish a larger professional presence.

Image: Fever Dream, Acrylic on Canvas, 2026