Meet artist partner Meridith McNeal, a Brooklyn-based artist, educator, curator, and arts administrator whose work explores the cultural, physical and social history of a place or individuals.
A LOOK INSIDE THE ARTIST’S STUDIO
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL WORKING ENVIRONMENT.
“My studio is on the top floor of my Brooklyn row-house. A big area rug covers a thick stack of large paintings and drawings on paper. It makes for a strangely buoyant surface to walk on. There are skylights and windows on either side of the space, and a desk towards the front of the space where I work on smaller pieces. I pin paper to the wall and work standing on larger works. The space is light filled and inviting, comfortable and functional for my purposes with storage, water sources, and accessible around the clock. In a word, ideal.”
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
“I have three series in my studio — small wall-mounted sculpture called Objects of Significance, Magical Things 12” square pieces which venerate the easily overlooked objects of everyday life, and Inside Outside Windowphilia life-sized watercolor paintings of windows which play with reflection and layers of external and internal space.”
Three things want a frame to give them structure: a painting, a story, and a window. All take different kinds of framing, of course, but the concept is similar: physical or abstract, a frame implies a viewpoint. It is where you start from.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TOOL OR MEDIUM?
“In a recent conversation with one of my students we discussed the phenomenon that what I am (we are) working on at that time is our favorite piece, or medium, or expression, the artistic embracing of intention to Be Here Now.”
WHAT HAVE COLLECTORS SAID ABOUT YOUR WORK?
“Inside looking out; outside looking in: the past year and a half has pushed us all to one side of the glass or the other, and often both. Home or someplace-not-home, sidewalk or car—those designations came with in an enormous range of variables, from safety to discomfort, contentment to yearning to grief.
“For artists, accustomed to observing yet also engaging and interacting with their subject matter, is this forced detachment an opportunity to take in the world with an unimpeded gaze, or is it a disconnect from what should be tangible, embodied, accessible through more than one sense? “The Way We See It,” a show of watercolor paintings by Meridith McNeal at FiveMyles Gallery in Brooklyn, engages the question with honesty, humor, and great compassion.” Lisa Peet, the Executive Editor at Library Journal, Senior Editor at Bloom, and a freelance writer, reviewer, and visual artist.”
IF SOMEONE CAME TO YOU WITH YOUR DREAM PROJECT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
“I already work on my dream projects! What would make it more dreamy is financial support in a deep and meaningful way.”
TELL US SOMETHING FUN ABOUT YOU.
“I am the co-founder and Director of ART YARD BKLYN (AYB), an education nonprofit anchored in Brooklyn that uses contemporary art practices to foster critical thinking among underrepresented and often marginalized artists of all ages. It is my belief that art as a holistic endeavor allows us to delve into any topic imaginable. The practice of learning, creating, thinking, and discussing art nourishes people of all ages in body, mind, heart, and spirit. AYB builds and strengthens community through art, fostering a sense of civic responsibility and awareness of social justice, and creating a safe haven where everyone is treated with kindness and respect.”
LIST RECENT PUBLICATIONS YOU AND YOUR WORK HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN.
“An Exhibition That Makes Rejection Look Good” Hyperallergic, September 2024
“Councilmember Yusef Salaam views a Sugar Hill Project” New York Amsterdam News, April 2024
“10 Public Art Installations to See in NYC, In April 2023”, Untapped New York, April 2023
Art Guide, ARTFORUM, April 2023
“Our Reflection”, The Huts Magazine, June 2022
“Studio Montclair Presents Viewpoints 2022”, New Jersey Stage, April 2022
“Studio Montclair Presents Viewpoints 2022”, Montclair Local, April 2022
“Letting In The Light at FiveMyles, Star Review, October 2021
“The Way We See It”, NY Art Beat, September 2021
“The Way We See It”, Mutual Art, September 2021
“A View From the Easel During Times of Quarantine”, HYPERALLERGIC, February 19, 2021
“Meridith McNeal”, Off the Walls and Behind the Brush, February 2021
“8 Essential Books for Map Fans”, AFAR Magazine, Dec. 7, 2020
“Reflecting in Red Hook”, Red Hook Star, July 3, 2020
Meridith has been to Italy many times, first as a traveler; then as a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome in the spring of 2008, in the spring of 2009, in summer 2010, in the spring of 2013 and again in the summer 2014.
For more information on this artist or to schedule a studio tour, in person or virtually, contact Andrea.
