Bliss or Madness? – Original Framed Mixed-Media Collector Artwork by Erin McGrath Rieke
About This Artwork
Bliss or Madness? is an original pastel and acrylic work on archival paper mounted to canvas. It explores the delicate border between exhilaration and instability, where joy can become disorientation and certainty disappears almost without warning.
I built the surface through layered color, texture, and intuitive marks. Some passages feel buoyant. Others gather tension beneath them. The composition refuses to settle completely into either state.
The title is deliberately unresolved. Bliss and madness are often treated as opposites, yet the body may recognize them through similar sensations: heightened energy, intensity, altered perception, and the feeling of standing outside ordinary time. What appears radiant from a distance may feel precarious from within.
Rather than answer the question posed by the title, the work remains inside it. It holds the strange brightness of emotional extremes and the resilience required to move through them.
Artwork Details
Artist: Erin McGrath Rieke
Title: Bliss or Madness?
Year Created: 2021
Medium: Pastel and acrylic on archival paper mounted to canvas
Artwork Size: 8 W × 10 H × 0.5 D in
Framed Size: 16 W × 20 H × 2 D in
Style: Contemporary Abstract / Mixed-Media Abstraction
Subject: Emotional extremes, psychological tension, perception, resilience
Series: Turbulence Behind Tranquility
Original Artwork: One-of-a-kind
Frame: Included; professionally presented and ready to hang
Original Collector Artwork
This is a singular, one-of-a-kind work created by Erin McGrath Rieke. Its original pastel marks, painted layers, archival surface, and physical construction exist only in this artwork. Any future prints will be clearly identified as reproductions.
A signed certificate of authenticity documenting the title, year, medium, dimensions, and original status of the work is included with the purchase.
Additional Information
Bliss or Madness? considers how quickly emotional intensity can change its meaning. What first feels expansive may become destabilizing. What feels chaotic may contain the beginning of clarity.
The intimate scale of the original invites close observation, while the larger frame gives it a substantial presence on the wall. Its layered surface and psychological tension make it particularly suited to collectors drawn to expressive abstraction, emotionally informed artwork, and contemporary mixed media.
Collector Price
$475 with shipping included
The price includes the original artwork, professional frame, signed certificate of authenticity, protective packing, handling, insurance, and standard ground delivery within the contiguous United States.
Shipping and Local Pickup
The listed price includes standard insured delivery from St. Louis to one address within the contiguous United States. Expedited transportation or unusual delivery requirements may require an additional charge arranged with the collector before shipment.
Complimentary local pickup is available in the St. Louis area by prior arrangement. Shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, and international destinations must be arranged and quoted separately.
Fine-Art Prints
Open-edition archival prints of Bliss or Madness? may be offered separately. Prints are reproductions and do not include the original artwork’s frame or certificate of authenticity.
Bliss or Madness? – Original Framed Mixed-Media Collector Artwork by Erin McGrath Rieke
About This Artwork
Bliss or Madness? is an original pastel and acrylic work on archival paper mounted to canvas. It explores the delicate border between exhilaration and instability, where joy can become disorientation and certainty disappears almost without warning.
I built the surface through layered color, texture, and intuitive marks. Some passages feel buoyant. Others gather tension beneath them. The composition refuses to settle completely into either state.
The title is deliberately unresolved. Bliss and madness are often treated as opposites, yet the body may recognize them through similar sensations: heightened energy, intensity, altered perception, and the feeling of standing outside ordinary time. What appears radiant from a distance may feel precarious from within.
Rather than answer the question posed by the title, the work remains inside it. It holds the strange brightness of emotional extremes and the resilience required to move through them.
Artwork Details
Artist: Erin McGrath Rieke
Title: Bliss or Madness?
Year Created: 2021
Medium: Pastel and acrylic on archival paper mounted to canvas
Artwork Size: 8 W × 10 H × 0.5 D in
Framed Size: 16 W × 20 H × 2 D in
Style: Contemporary Abstract / Mixed-Media Abstraction
Subject: Emotional extremes, psychological tension, perception, resilience
Series: Turbulence Behind Tranquility
Original Artwork: One-of-a-kind
Frame: Included; professionally presented and ready to hang
Original Collector Artwork
This is a singular, one-of-a-kind work created by Erin McGrath Rieke. Its original pastel marks, painted layers, archival surface, and physical construction exist only in this artwork. Any future prints will be clearly identified as reproductions.
A signed certificate of authenticity documenting the title, year, medium, dimensions, and original status of the work is included with the purchase.
Additional Information
Bliss or Madness? considers how quickly emotional intensity can change its meaning. What first feels expansive may become destabilizing. What feels chaotic may contain the beginning of clarity.
The intimate scale of the original invites close observation, while the larger frame gives it a substantial presence on the wall. Its layered surface and psychological tension make it particularly suited to collectors drawn to expressive abstraction, emotionally informed artwork, and contemporary mixed media.
Collector Price
$475 with shipping included
The price includes the original artwork, professional frame, signed certificate of authenticity, protective packing, handling, insurance, and standard ground delivery within the contiguous United States.
Shipping and Local Pickup
The listed price includes standard insured delivery from St. Louis to one address within the contiguous United States. Expedited transportation or unusual delivery requirements may require an additional charge arranged with the collector before shipment.
Complimentary local pickup is available in the St. Louis area by prior arrangement. Shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories, and international destinations must be arranged and quoted separately.
Fine-Art Prints
Open-edition archival prints of Bliss or Madness? may be offered separately. Prints are reproductions and do not include the original artwork’s frame or certificate of authenticity.
