Gallery

SEE ME opens Friday, September 8.

171 Cedar Arts Center presents SEE ME | A COMMENTARY ON WOMANHOOD, Modern Quilt Art by Becky McNeill, on Display in the Houghton Gallery at 155 Cedar Street from September 8 – October 20, 2023. The Opening Reception will be on September 8 from 5 to 7 p.m., with an Artist Talk at 6:00 p.m.

The exhibit will run from September 8 through October 20, 2023.

A native of Indiana, McNeill is a contemporary quilt artist who lives and works in Corning, New York. She learned to quilt as a child, creating functional objects of everyday life. However, McNeill recognized from an early age that the aesthetics of traditional quilting did not speak to her creative spirit. As an adult, she embraced the modern art quilt movement and is a self-taught American quilt artist.

McNeill’s improvisational designs and vibrant colors create abstract compositions with a personal, narrative quality. Her work is often embedded with pixelated messages of social justice, relationships, community, family, and self-preservation. Part of the modern quilt movement, McNeill’s body of work frequently presents aspirational social messages that inspire or call the viewer to action.

“The quilts in ‘See Me’ were inspired by a series of questions about female identity and feelings of invisibility. I examined how our worth as women is determined by our condition (youth, beauty, etc.), and why we become increasingly more invisible as we age… I questioned maleness as the standard or default condition in our society and how this can strip women of their individuality and uniqueness… I looked at how gender expectations obscure our individuality or render us invisible…”

An established maker and teacher, McNeill’s fine art quilts have been featured nationally at the Modern Quilt Guild’s “QuiltCon”, the North Carolina Quilt Symposium, the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, the Roxbury Arts Center, the North Carolina State Fair, and the Phoenix Art Museum

171 Cedar Arts Center is a dynamic organization that enriches the community by offering exceptional arts instruction, contemporary art exhibits, and live performances. The Arts Center is in two historic buildings at 155 and 171 Cedar Street, in the heart of Corning, NY. The Houghton Gallery is located at 155 Cedar Street.

171’s Houghton Gallery at 155 Cedar Street.