Merill Comeau
Artist Statement
Embracing installations, wall hangings, paintings, and garments, my work mines autobiography and investigates current socio-political issues. I am also inspired by traditions of craft and the history of ‘women’s work.’ My choices of materials and processes are informed by trauma and feminism; I employ worn fabrics of the domestic sphere and the mark making of stitch to convey narratives of mending and endurance. Ninety percent of my materials are repurposed textiles -- mother-in-law’s blouse, stained tablecloth, discontinued designer prints -- each communicating identity and status while revealing lived lives and embodying memory.
I reclaim cast offs through painting, printing, stenciling, thermo-faxing, rusting, and composting layering myself onto a past creating a new enriched surface. In tandem, I often create large drawings to flesh out ideas and metaphors. My multifaceted approach uses imagery from nature as a symbol of our life cycle, text to convey or imply meaning, and abstraction to mirror the cacophony and complications of everyday life. As I stitch hundreds of snippets together, each part becomes integral to the whole, akin to the sum of the many moments that make up a lifetime.
I believe sharing individual stories is a powerful force connecting us to communal interests. When I teach, I employ written and visual techniques of discovery and symbolic translation of anecdotes enabling people to communicate the inchoate. When I construct commissioned works, my conceptual underpinning incorporates specific characteristics of context. Relational moments of listening and the exchange of tales provide me with abundant inspiration to create.
Biography
Merill Comeau’s work has been featured in over 80 exhibitions, at venues including the Fuller Craft Museum, Danforth Art Museum, Fitchburg Art Museum, Museums of Old York, MA; and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute of Boston. Her installation Family of Origin is currently touring with FiberArt International 2019. The Institute of Contemporary Art Boston’s Art Lab is hosting her interactive project Threads of Connection through 2020. Highlights of her residencies include Hambidge Center for Art and Science, Southern New Hampshire University, and three month-long stays at Weir Farm National Historic Site in CT. She has exhibited at many academic institutions including Simmons College, Lasell University, Stonehill College, Dana Hall School, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and Phillips Exeter Academy. Numerous publications have showcased her work, including Surface Design Journal, TextileArtist.org, Fiber Art Now, Textile Study Group of New York’s blog, Massachusetts Cultural Council’s ArtsSake blog, and World of Threads Artist Interviews.
In addition to her solo studio practice, Comeau facilitates the emergence of young artistic voices. A teaching artist for the Department of Youth Services since 2012, she works with youth in the Massachusetts court system residing in secure treatment centers. Her practice is trauma-informed, and uses visual expression to tell stories, transmit knowledge, and define values. She has executed over 30 public projects resulting in individual and collaborative artworks. She taught mining autobiographical stories for art-making inspiration at the 2019 Surface Design Association’s biennial conference in St. Louis, MO and teaches summer intensive workshops at Eliot School of Applied Arts and Craft in Boston. In 2021 Comeau will teach at Design Outside the Lines in Ashland, OR, and the FiberArts Guild of Pittsburgh. In addition to teaching, Comeau lectures on her work, fiber arts in a postmodern context, and visual voices of social justice.
Selected Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
2021 Three Stones Gallery, July 7 - August 18
2020 Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Art Lab, Threads of Connection installation and public art project ongoing through 2020
Three Stones Gallery, Concord, MA, Triple Visions
2019 Three Stones Gallery, Concord, MA Revival
2018 Chandler Gallery, Maud Morgan Art Center, Cambridge, MA, Family of Origin
2017 Some Semblance Of, ArtSpace Gallery, Maynard, MA
2015 The PLACE Between, Hess Gallery, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA, The PLACE Between
North Hill Art Gallery, Needham, MA, Artist-in-Residence: Merill Comeau
2014 World of Threads Festival, Canada, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, Merill Comeau Solo
2013 Danforth Art Museum and School, Framingham, MA, Fragments of Eden
McIninch Art Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH, Remains of the Day
2012 Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA
2011 Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Jamaica Plain, MA, Tree Pieces
The Center for Arts in Natick, Natick, MA
2010 ArtSpace Gallery, ArtSpace, Maynard, MA, Fragments of Eden
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Merill Comeau: Fiber Collage
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 Attleboro Art Museum, Attleboro, MA, By Hand
2020 Surface Design Association, Below, Through, Above and Beyond the Datum Level
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, Human Impact: Stories of the Opioid Epidemic
Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN, Art Cloth Network, Full Circle
InLiquid Gallery, Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Remembering the Suffragists,100 Years of Women Voting in the United States and Time Unbound
2019 Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA, 84th Regional Exhibition of Art and Craft
FiberArt International 2019, Pittsburgh, PA
Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, DRESSED
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA, Context: Language, Media, and Meaning from Surface Design AssociatesWeir Farm Weir Farm National Historic Site, Wilton CT, Women's Sphere (Is Wherever She Makes Good)
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate, Boston, MA, Seat at the Table
Galatea Gallery, Boston, MA, Eliot School Faculty Taking Form: Fibers and Fabric
Umbrella Community Arts Center, Concord, MA, Migration
Davis Gallery, Worcester, MA, Stitched: Knot What It Seams
2018 3S ArtSpace, Portsmouth, NH, Glass Ceiling: Limitless View
Surface Design Association, Order/Chaos, online exhibition
Bottel Stoekel Gallery, CT, Friends of Norfolk Artists, Dedication
Viridian Artists, New York, NY, Evil Plastic
New Arts Center, Newton, MA, STITCH: Syntax/Action/Reaction
2017 Lamont Gallery, Phillips Exeter Academy, NH, Possible Subject Positions
2016 Motherbrook Arts and Community Center, Dedham, MA,The Fragile Season
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA, 81st Regional Exhibition of Art and Craft
Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, Danforth Art Annual
2015 Three Stones Gallery, Concord, MA, Full Circle
2014 Museums of Old York, ME, Unraveled: Contemporary New England Fiber Art
Wedeman Art Gallery, Yamawaki Cultural Center, Lasell College, Newton, MA, The Sum is Larger Than It’s Parts
Three Stones Gallery, Concord, MA
Mother Brook Arts Center, Dedham, MA, Flirt
2013 Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, Community of Artists
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, A Room of Our Own
Dana Hall Art Gallery, Wellesley, MA, Fashion and Fiber Art
Nave Gallery Annex, Somerville, MA, The Knit Art House in Crochetville
2012 Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, Off The Wall
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, 68th Members Prize Show and NorthEast Prize Exhibition
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Members Juried II
The Warner Babcock Institute & Beyond Benign, Wilmington, MA,Tales From A Test Tube
NK Gallery, Boston, MA
Nave Gallery, Somerville, MA, Threads Bared
2011 Cushing-Martin Gallery, Stonehill College, Easton, MA, Stitched: Nature Constructed
Trustman Gallery, Simmons College, Boston, MA, Rumble at the Media Mash-up
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Members Juried II
Riverworks Gallery, Greenville, South Carolina, Textiles in a Tube
2010 Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, Off The Wall, Staff Picks
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, Northeast Prize Exhibition
Pure Light Gallery, Turners Falls, MA, Art From Detritus
2009 Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, Mixed Media/Fiber,
Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN, Nothing New
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Jamaica Plain, Artists in the Arboretum
Artspace Gallery, Maynard, MA, Edge
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Roddy Open Competition
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, RED
Caladan Gallery, Nature, on-line
ALL Gallery, Lowell, MA, Fabrications
BHCC Art Gallery, Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA, Art Gone Green
2008 Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Craft USA
Coconino Community College, Flagstaff, AZ, Surface: Layered
Carney Gallery, Fine Arts Center, Regis College, Weston, MA, A Fixed Point: New Art from the Old North Bridge,
Gallery 51, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA, Bloom
Green Mountain Cultural Center, Waitsfield, VT, Art in the Round Barn
Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA, Women of the Cloth
Worcester Center for Crafts, MA, Petal Pushers
Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL, Clay and Fiber
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, Members Prize Show
Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, Northeast Prize Exhibition
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, A Fixed Point: New Art from the Old North Bridge
Caladan Gallery, Plant Life, on-line
2007 Concord Art Association, Members Juried II, Juror's Award, Lucy Lacoste
119 Gallery, Lowell, MA, Seek Alternative Roots
Artist Residencies
2019 Turkey Land Cove Foundation, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2018 Weir Farm Art Center, Weir Farm National Historic Site, CT
2017 Catoctin Mountain Park, MD
2017 Weir Farm Art Center, Weir Farm National Historic Site, CT
2016 Acadia National Park, Maine
2013 McIninch Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, NH
2012 The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Science, Creative Residency Program, Rabun Gap, Georgia
2011 Weir Farm Art Center, Weir Farm National Historic Site, Ct
2009 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont
Artist Talks and Lectures
2021 Attleboro Art Museum, MA, By Hand, Exhibiting Artists' Virtual Talk
Surface Design Association, Textile Talk: Textile Narratives: Vintage, Found, & Transformed, Moderator
Surface Design Association, Aotearoa New Zealand Field Trip, Moderator
2020 Fuller Craft Museum, Craft Chat, Two Artists/One Exhibition
TextileArtist.org, Community Stitch Challenge, Workshop Leader
Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, Artist Talk
2019 Galatea Gallery, Boston, Artist Talk
Umbrella Center for Community Art, Concord, MA, Panelist: Migration
2018
Chandler Gallery, Maud Morgan Art Center, Cambridge, MA, Artist Talk, Family of Origin
New Art Center, Newton, MA, Panelist, STITCH: Syntax, Action, Reaction
First Parish, Concord, MA, Guest Speaker, Whose Mercy: Reflections of a Teaching Artist for the Department of Youth Services
2017 Phillips Exeter Academy, NH, Panelist, Possible Subject Positions
Weir Farm National Historic Site, Wilton, CT, Artist in Residence Artist Talk
Catoctin Mountain National Park, Artist in Residence Artist Talk
2016 Danforth Art Annual, Exhibiting Artist Talk
Umbrella Center for the Arts, Concord, MA, Panelist, Art and Healing
2015 Quinobequin Quilters, Needham, MA, Artist Talk
2014 Museums of Old York, York, ME, Guest Lecturer, Contemporary Fiber Art: An Artist’s Perspective
2013 Danforth Museum of Art, Artist Talks and Workshops: Teen Docent Training Program
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Moderator: Artist Panel: Coaching Groups for Artists
2012 Nave Gallery, Somerville, MA, Artist Talk
2011 Weir Farm National Historic Site, Wilton, CT, Artist in residence Artist Talk
Stonehill College, Panelist, Stitched: Nature Constructed
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Artist Talk
2008 Endicott College Expressive Therapies Program, Beverly, MA, Guest Lecturer
Groton Public Library, Groton, MA, Artist Talk, Botanical Inspirations
Legislative Breakfast, State House, Boston MA, Guest speaker, Therapeutic Community Projects
Northeast Family Institute, Danvers, MA, Board Meeting, Guest speaker, Therapeutic Community Projects
Regis College, Weston, MA, Artist Talk, Fixed Point
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Moderator, Panel Discussion: Artists Talk about Fixed Point
Curating/Jurying
2020 Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, 2020 Membership Exhibition, Juror, For Your Consideration
2009-14 Concord Art Association, MA, Juror, Members’ Exhibitions and Concord Carlisle High School Scholarship Awards
Franklin Art Association Members Exhibition, Franklin, MA, Juror
2013 Concord Art Association, 2013, Artist Curator, A Room of Our Own: Eleven Artists One Self Coaching Group
2012 Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Co-Artist Curator, Consuming Passion
Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, Curatorial Assistant, Present/Future: A Showcase of Emerging Artists Concord Art Association
2010 Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine, Interweave Press, Juror, Mixed Media Artist Competition
Grants/Awards
2019 Peter McCollum FAM Staff Prize, Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA
2018 Maynard Cultural Council, Concord Cultural Council
2012-14 Massachusetts Cultural Council STARS Residency grant program
2013 National Endowment for the Arts, art education grant
2012 Groton Cultural Council
2008 Concord Carlisle High School Parent Association, Concord Cultural Council
2007 Juror’s Award, Lucy Lacoste, Concord Art Association, Concord, MA
Public Collections
Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA
Lahey Hospital, Burlington, MA
Schepens Eye Research Institute of Harvard University, Boston, MA
Stamford Hospital, CT
UMass Memorial Cancer Center, Marlborough Hospital Cancer Pavilion, Marlborough, MA
Children’s Hospital Boston, MA
Children’s Hospital Boston, Kent Street Residence, Brookline, MA
Meditech, MA
North Hill, Needham, MA
80 Thoreau, Farm to Table Restaurant, Concord, MA
First Parish, Concord, MA
Professional Affiliations and Education
Member: Textile Study Group of New York
Surface Design Association, Event Committee
Trainings: Psychological First Aid and Post Traumatic Stress Management, Riverside Trauma Center, Boston
Visual Thinking Strategies Practicum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Interim Program Director Training, Unitarian Universalist Association
Artists Professional Toolbox, Boston, MA
Education: School of the Museum of Fine Art, Tufts University, Robert Seigelman, Hot Topics
Boston University, Continuing Education, Art History
Boston Architectural College, Architecture and Interior Design
B.A., Social Theory and Political Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA