“Modern Materials” exhibit changing people’s ideas about quilts
“Above the Boardwalk” by Susan Else is one of the three-dimensional works in the exhibit “Modern Materials: The Art of the Quilt” at Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE 3.
From Monday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma City quilt display awakens interest
‘Modern Materials’ designs not your grandma’s patchwork
The exhibit “Modern Materials: The Art of the Quilt” is transforming people’s definition of quilting and introducing many to the concept of quilt art.
The gallery walls at Artspace at Untitled are arrayed with colorful covers, but these artworks are not meant to drape a bed. And they bear little resemblance to the geometric or patchwork patterns most people are used to seeing.
“We’ve had more people in for it than any show than we’ve had in well over a year. Crowds are really good,” said Jon Burris, executive director of Artspace at Untitled. “It’s a broad range of people who come in, possibly expecting to see quilts, not expecting to see everything that they find, like a three-dimensional Ferris wheel made of quilted material.”
But about one-third of the 33 works in “Modern Materials” are 3-D, or “off the wall.” California artist Susan Else created a quilted, fully functional model of a Ferris wheel titled “Above the Boardwalk.” A huge verdant “Pod” partially open to reveal a bright pink bud inside was submitted by New Jersey artist Kevan Rupp Lunney.
And curator Jill Rumoshosky Werner of Kansas contributed an oversized matchbook and giant knitting needles, both made of quilted material, to the show.
“The way I normally explain it to people is you can take paint and you can paint the outside of the house or you can paint the Mona Lisa with it. It’s the same with any medium; you can use it for practical purposes or you can make really exceptional fine art with it,” Werner said.
“This goes beyond the vision most people have of Grandma’s quilts.”
For instance, Missouri artist Pam RuBert’s studio quilt titled “Alien Invasion” playfully shows her younger self in the clutches of goofy extra-terrestrials. Wendy Huhn of Dexter, Ore., depicts a pill-addled bunny longing for “Sleep” in her quilt.
“Vivace,” by Santa Fe, N.M., quilt artist Katie Pasquini Masopust, looks like a dramatic abstract painting, until the viewer gets close enough to see the stitches.
“When the curator proposed this idea … I said, ‘Oh, quilts, that’s really not too cutting-edge, is it? We like to be very contemporary. She said, ‘Well, let me send you some pictures,’ and she did,” said Burris, who was on Untitled’s exhibitions committee at the time. “I said, ‘Well, that’s not what I would’ve thought of,’ and she said, ‘That’s the point.’”
Burris soon learned of a whole culture of art quilters. Many tell narratives through their work, while some address social issues through their art. Others simply use quilt art as their chosen medium for self-expression.
“They produce quilt art, and they have a whole different vocabulary. They have a whole aesthetic that is not a part of any medium that I’ve known before,” he said. “All of their quilts hang on the wall or go on a pedestal … where traditionally quilts are made as utilitarian objects.”
Quilt artists use a variety of fibers and quilting materials, and some incorporate a range of other materials, from photographic film to tiny plastic suitcases.
“They all start with sketches or drawings that are very detailed, and they have to be. It’s not at all random,” Burris said. pointing out Regina Benson’s 3-D “Core Sample,” for which the Colorado artist dyed her own fabric to simulate different colors of soil. “There’s a little bit more freedom with other mediums, where (with) this, it has be exact if what you come out with is what you’re intending to do.”
Of the 25 contributors with works in the exhibit, only four or five consider selves full-time artists. The others’ day jobs range from psychiatrists and doctors to computer programmers and writers. Most have studied the history and techniques of traditional quilting.
“It’s a very serious pursuit for them,” Burris said. “They consider themselves sort of out of the realm … of traditional quilt making as a craft because they use very different materials and very different subjects.”
Two Oklahoma artists are featured in “Modern Materials”: Jean Ann Fausser of Tulsa created a mixed-media quilted sculpture of a film strip titled “Focus,” while Oklahoma City fiber artist/gardener Elia Woods crafted the 3-D silk piece “All Paths Lead to Home” based on her experiences as a beekeeper.
The exhibit, on view through Aug. 29, has attracted a broad audience, from art lovers to quilt clubs, including about 400 people at the opening reception. Burris said the show has changed some people’s minds about what constitutes quilts and quilting. He recalled a quilt group of about a dozen women who recently toured the show and then sat down for an hour-long discussion.
“They had clearly never seen anything like this. I could hear from the sidelines them saying, ‘Well, some of this looks like quilts … and then some of it really doesn’t look like quilts,’” he said. “It’s challenging to a lot of people who come in to see the show.”
On exhibit
“Modern Materials: The Art of the Quilt”
Where: Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE 3.
When: Through Aug. 29.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Oklahoma artists: Tulsa artist Jean Ann Fausser and Oklahoma City artist Elia Woods each have a piece in the exhibit.
Information: 815-9995 or www.artspaceatuntitled.org.
-BAM
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Comments
Thank goodness that quilt artists are using other materials outside the mainstream. I’m glad to see there was an exhibit that allowed art quilter’s work to be showcased.
thanks,
Lynne
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