Quilts=Art=Quilts

I have written about my visit to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Centre in Auburn, NY. The Schweinfurth has a special interest in textiles and each year mounts a show of art quilts called Quilts=Art=Quilts. The 2014 show opened a couple of days ago. 

This is the quilt awarded best in show. It is 65" x 65".

Chaos: the Butterfly Effect, made by Kit Vincent of Ontario

You will get a different view of the quilt by visiting Kathy Loomis's blog. She was one of two jurors for the show and selected the prizewinners. This post contains a closeup photo of the surface of the quilt. I think it illustrates the magic of fabric as a medium. While paintings and sculptures can often look different as we get closer, I think there are more surprises when the artwork is composed of fabric and thread. That might be because we have certain expectations with regard to those media, based on our familiarity with them in a domestic setting. No matter - it is fun to think about how something will read from a distance and what changes can be induced in the viewers when they are allowed to carefully inspect the surface.

Kathy has also written about some of the other prizewinners. The Schweinfurth website has a link to a virtual tour of the show.