Ashley Cecil is a visual artist specializing in paintings and mixed media works of flora, fauna, and feminine forms that draw connections between the natural world and its human inhabitants. Her love affair with all things organic and wild matured as a result of studying with accomplished painters in London while earning her master’s degree at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, immersing herself in nature-inspired decorative arts collections in European museums, and painting from live observation at conservation institutions such as the National Aviary.

Her fervor for artistic interpretations of the state of life on this planet has landed Ashley many remarkable opportunities including creating a commissioned artwork for Oxfam America that was exhibited at a United Nations convention on climate change, talking face-to-face with Barack Obama about finding a path to pursue your passion, a six-month artist residency at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and traveling to the Amazon rainforest to participate in the art-immersion program, Labverde.

It was the confluence of her nature-based residency projects and becoming a mother that inspired Ashley’s recent work, which draws parallels between the oppression of women and the domination of nature. These artworks are emotional and intuitive reflections on the harm we inflict on nature as well as the tender side of our relationship with it. The aim of the work is to endear you to the women and wildlife that will determine the future of an entire generation.

 

Solo Exhibitions
2023       Land That I Love, Albany Museum of Art, Albany, GA
2022       Now You See Me, Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA
2021       Violence in Eden, ZYNKA Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2019       Fruitful, Tree Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
                Deepening Roots, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA
2018       Edged Out, Frick Environmental Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2017       Birds and Botany, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA

Group Exhibitions
2023       Craft A Force in Contemporary Art, online exhibition hosted by Site:Brooklyn Gallery
                Celebrating the Sacred Feminine, Ludington Area Center for the Arts, MI
                60th Annual Juried Competition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
                The Contemporary Print 2023, Austin Community College, Austin, TX
2022       Artist’s Vision, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA*
2021       34th September Competition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
                Face Value, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2021       Lifting the Sky, American Women Artists, Lodi, CA*
                If Not Now, When?, Spilt Milk Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland*
                Artist’s Vision, Marin Society of Artists, San Rafael, CA*
                A Generous Kingdom V, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR*
2020      American Contemporary Craft, Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, TX
                Locally Sourced, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
                Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT*
2017       Birdland and the Anthropocene, The Peale Center, Baltimore, MD
                Storytellers, SPACE Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
                Life As We Knew It, Art. Science. Gallery, Austin, TX
2016       Emergent Patterns, Boxheart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
*conducted virtually due to COVID-19

Residencies
2019       Tree Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2018       Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, PA
                LABVERDE, Manaus, Brazil
                Richards-Zawacki Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2017       Lacwac Biological Field Station, Lake Ariel, PA
2016       Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA

Awards & Grants
2021       First Place, 34th September Competition, Alexandria Museum of Art
                Kathleen J. Smith Humanity in Art Award
2020       First Place, National Council for Science and the Environment, Colors of Science Contest
2019       A. W. Mellon Fund at the Pittsburgh Foundation, Residency Grant
                The Fine Foundation, Residency Grant
2018       The Fine Foundation, Residency Grant
                The Grable Foundation, Residency Grant for Arts Education
                The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Artist Opportunity Grant
                The Henry John Simonds Foundation, Residency Grant
2016       The Fine Foundation, Residency Grant

Select Collections
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Hilton Hotels
Nemacolin Resort
Oxfam America
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Pittsburgh International Airport
Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania

Ashley is represented by ZYNKA Gallery.