Pushing the Surface 2011
Pushing the Surface,
an exhibition of 24 contemporary quilts, will be displayed at
the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum May 21 – Aug 7. No longer fit
for a bed, the art quilt has the nerve to be any size or shape
and more often than not, has thrown symmetry to the wind. These
pieces may be painted, dyed, laser printed, appliquéd or fused.
The techniques are as varied as the subject matter, which is as
varied as the effect. What they do share in common is the basic
quilt feature of joining at least two layers by quilting.
Participating
artists are from across the United States as well as Israel,
Canada and Japan. Many are internationally known, their quilts
featured in books, periodicals and traveling exhibitions. They
may use their art to comment on society, reveal a personal
memory or explore new ways to meld 21st-century
technologies with a hanging layered textile. Visitors will see
some amazing work. Artist John Lefelhocz of Athens, Ohio,
created his quilt using bike chains. No coincidence--Riders
On The Storm – Get the Lead Out
shows riders head to head in a bike race. In Barbara
Watler’s quilt, Falling Leaf, a single skeletal leaf
dominates a finely quilted white background.
Watler works in Florida as a free-lance illustrator specializing
in fabric constructions. Japanese artist Noriko Endo always
develops spectacular designs. Her quilt, Reflections
#1—Golden Carps, is set on a blue background with gold
stitching forming an abstract image of water and fish.
This is the eighth year Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum has
presented Pushing the Surface, a biennial exhibit
sponsored by the Mary F. Taylor Family and Dixie Fishbaugh.
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