“The World Always Seems Brighter When You’ve Just Made Something That Wasn’t There Before”. ~ Neil Gaiman

BIO

Rebecca Austin, working under her studio name, Parlor City Arts, is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses painting and sculpture. Working primarily in oil and acrylic, Rebecca creates paintings that range from whimsical floral compositions to more emotionally charged works, often incorporating intricate beadwork onto their surfaces. Her sculptures are primarily constructed from rebar and repurposed metal, transforming industrial materials into expressive and often unexpected forms.

Rebecca has been creating art for most of her life. Her artistic path began early, when she was selected for an advanced art program in eighth grade, an experience that helped establish a lifelong commitment to creative expression. Continuing her commitment, Rebecca earned a B.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting, and a B.A. in Art History from Binghamton University.

Rebecca has recently received the Innovator Award at the Art Association of Cooperstown’s 91st Annual National Juried Art Exhibition for her work One Acceptable Day, a piece that explores what it feels like to live with anxiety.

Rebecca’s work can be found in private collections, at the Florida Botanical Gardens, in public spaces throughout downtown Binghamton, New York.

ARTIST STATEMENT

A significant source of inspiration for Rebecca’s work is her experience working through mental health challenges. Her more emotionally charged paintings explore the weight, complexity, and often difficult realities of those experiences. These works are deliberately painted with fully saturated colors, creating a sense of whimsy and hope within each piece. Rebecca aims to create work that initially appears refreshing, vibrant, and light, while concealing a darker underlying meaning. The vivid color draws viewers in, inviting them to pause and enjoy the work before discovering the deeper story beneath its surface. In this way, the beauty of the work becomes a pathway into conversations about experiences that are often difficult to see or discuss.

Her lighter work, including her rebar sculptures and whimsical floral paintings, offers another form of release and serves as a way of working through those same experiences. This balance between heaviness and playfulness is central to Rebecca’s practice, allowing her to explore vulnerability, resilience, and joy through her art.