You will never think of quilts in quite the same way. Joel McDonald’s first solo exhibition at Zephyr Gallery features textiles and plants but not in the traditional sense. They serve as a means for McDonald’s search for answers. The questions are things many of us deal with — death, sex, religion and conservative values. And, of course, politics. As curator Joey Yates explains, “‘obby obby’ provides McDonald … [with] an opportunity … [for] a political stage to impugn a certain store that prevailed upon the Supreme Court to deny female employees the same access to certain contraceptives intended to be universally available under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.” McDonald will be giving an artist talk on Monday, Dec. 28 at 6 p.m.