Artist Statement
The indiscriminate nature of disaster and the randomness of loss are consistent points of departure for my work. I am interested in the way a fragment, or a familiar object can serve as a springboard for a meditation on this rupture.
While the individual works are unique, I always work in sets of series. I find that the visual and intellectual complexities of the initial inspiration become deeper by the repeated use of the same forms, imagery, and materials.
A result of early training in the figurative tradition, the representation of form is an essential element of my practice whether in sculpture, ceramics, assemblage, painting, or drawing. Across a range of materials and methods, I uncover narratives and imagine secrets rescued from the ruins of memory.
Biography
Winifred McNeill is a multidisciplinary artist working at the cross-section of sculpture, ceramics, assemblage, painting, and drawing. Trained in the figurative tradition, the representation of form guides her practice.
McNeill exhibits her work in national and international venues and the work is held in both public and private collections. Residencies include the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC); The Brodsky Center, The Virginia Center for Creative Arts, The Millay Colony for the Arts and Yaddo.
McNeill received a BFA from Boston University and an MFA from Queens College, CUNY. Living in Rome, she taught Drawing and Painting at St Stephen’s School. Returning to the United States, she served as Curator of Education at the Jersey City Museum. She was a member of the faculty in the Art Department of New Jersey City University until 2022 and has been awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.
Select Exhibitions
| 2020 | The Air and The Space, Winifred McNeill, Art House Productions Gallery, Jersey City, NJ |
| 2019 | The Weight of the World, Winifred McNeill, Kristin Evangelista, Director WP University Galleries, William Paterson University, Wayne NJ |
| 2017 | Industrial Strength, Winifred McNeill, Curator Peter Koch, The Black Cat, Berkeley, CA |
| 2016 | Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought: The Drawings and Sculpture of Winifred McNeill Curator Diane Radycki, Payne Gallery, Moravian College, PA |
| 2010 | Flight Shade, St. Stephens Cultural Center Foundation, Rome, Italy |
| 1999 | Looking and Touching, Aljira; A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ |
| 2023 | Curators Choice Art 150 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ |
| Vivid Selections from ArtFair14C submissions , Art 150 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ | |
| 2022 | New Jersey Arts Annual, Trenton NJ |
| 2022 | ArtFair 14C, The Showcase, The Armory, Jersey City, NJ |
| 2021 | On Being, Curator Kim Power, Sculptors Alliance, New York |
| 2020 | Test Cast XXII, Sunday Morning, The European Ceramic Workcentre, Oisterwijk, The Netherlands |
| 2019 | Embodied Language and the Form of the Book, PETER KOCH, PRINTER, The Grolier Club, New York, NY |
| 2018 | Contain Her, Trestle Projects, 62 18th Street, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2010 | New Classicism, Maloney Art Gallery, College of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ |
| 2009 | Dialogue in Chinese Garden, Yucan Gallery, Suzhou, China St. Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ |
| 2007 | The Circular Exhibition, Ho Gallery, Seoul, Korea |
| 2007 | The Circular Exhibition, Hun Gallery, 12 W 32nd St, New York, NY |
| 2003 | 100 New Jersey Artists Make Prints, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper |
Select Collections
The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection, New York, NY
University of California at Berkeley, The Bancroft Library, Berkley, CA
Columbia University Library, Rare Books Department, New York, NY
University of California at Los Angeles, The Clark Library, Los Angeles, CA
Stanford University Library, Gunst Collection, Stanford, CA
Select Publications
| 2018 | Of Death and the Planets John McEveety Woodruff, Limited edition book Covers and two interior watercolors |
| 2006 | The Helen Fragments, Limited Edition Letterpress Book Peter Koch printer, Berkley, California 55 drawings, commissioned for limited edition letterpress book |
Education
| MFA | Studio Art, Queens College, City University of New York |
| BFA | Studio Art, Boston University |
Winifred McNeill © 2023 | Site by Florio Design