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Layers of Meaning: The Art Quilt 2005
Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery
Portland OR thru May 11, 2005
Angela Moll, Secret Diary 11 (2004), cotton fabric, thread, and dye [Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Portland OR, through May 11]
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Layers of Meaning presents 28 fine art pieces from the Studio Art Quilt Associates, an international organization dedicated to the promotion of contemporary works of art originating in domestic folk quilting techniques. Many of the exhibiting artists have formal academic training in painting or other studio disciplines. Through quilt-making, they transform the functional structure and patterns of quilts. Stitches produce sculptural lines. Colours and images are achieved through dyes, printing methods, applique and other experimental methods.
Emily Richardson, Spooky Woods (2003), cotton, painted silk [Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Portland OR, through May 11]
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For example, Kristin Dukay’s piece “Plastic Surgeon” contains objects layered between vinyl shower curtains with rubber tubing and gauze attached to the exterior. Her pictorial forms reference light-green hospital uniforms. In “He Didn’t See the Woods”, Trisha Hassler juxtaposes torch-cut reclaimed steel with embellished layers of hand-dyed and embroidered cotton. The media becomes metaphoric and essential to the artist's message, which alludes to the separation of urban industrialization from a soft green forest.
Linda MacDonald also offers environmental commentary in “Even The Old Growth Must Work For Its Keep”. The quilt depicts an automobile driving through a large tree that has dimensional holes. Dollar signs line the quilt border. Her satire on commercialization and tourism was airbrushed on the surface with fabric paint and hand-quilted, giving the piece further dimension.
Melisse Laing, Message from Mars: Spirit and Opportunity (2004), hand-dyed fabrics by Judy Robertson and artist, machine pieced, machinequilted [Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Portland OR, through May 11]
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B. Michele Maynard, Vigil (2003), commercial cotton and silk fabrics, machine embroidered [Contemporary Crafts Museum and Gallery, Portland OR, through May 11]
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www.contemporarycrafts.org
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