Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters Begins National Tour in Kearney, Nebraska

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2005

Contact: Sarah McGreer
sarah@maaa.org

Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters Begins
National Tour in Kearney, Nebraska

Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters, an exhibition organized by the Front Range Contemporary Quilters and toured under the auspices of ExhibitsUSA, opened on February 3, 2005, at the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, Nebraska. This exhibition is a dazzling survey of some of the most innovative quilt work being done today.

A distant cousin of the decorative but practical handiwork of previous generations, art quilts are contemporary permutations of a traditional craft that has moved from the bed to the wall. Many contemporary quilt artists incorporate highly unconventional materials in their work, such as paint, paper, beads, metal, and wood. Today’s art quilts show a wide range of creativity, melding ideas of home and hearth with cutting-edge technologies of the digital age.

Juror Robert Shaw, author of The Art Quilt, selected 40 new works for the exhibition, all by members of the Front Range Contemporary Quilters, one of the oldest art quilt guilds in the United States. The group is made up of male and female artists from Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Kansas, and has sponsored annual juried exhibitions since its inception in 1988. The exhibition is curated by Lorri Flint, Exhibitions Chairman of the guild.

The members of Front Range Contemporary Quilters share a common interest not only in the art of quilting, but also in a prevailing theme surrounding the elements themselves. The natural elements—earth, air, fire, and water—intertwine with the locality and geography of the group to provide both poetic and practical subject matter.

Many of the artists in the exhibition have garnered national and international attention, such as Judith Trager, Carol Moe, and Sandra L. H. Woock. Other members of the guild featured in the exhibition include Betsy Cannon, Barbara D. Cohen, Jan Magee, Charlotte Ziebarth, Diana Bunnell, and Patty Hawkins.

Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters closes at the Museum of Nebraska Art on May 1, but it will continue to travel nationally through January 2009.

The purpose of ExhibitsUSA is to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms and cultures, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities. ExhibitsUSA is a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1972.

Tour Schedule:

February 3, 2005–May 1, 2005
Museum of Nebraska Art; Kearney, Nebraska

May 15, 2005–August 16, 2005
Wichita Falls Museum and Art Center; Wichita Falls, Texas

September 1, 2005–October 5, 2005
Bicentennial Art Center and Museum; Paris, Illinois

October 21, 2005–November 30, 2005
Highland Community College; Highland, Kansas

December 15, 2005–March 10, 2006
Ellen Noel Art Museum; Odessa, Texas

March 25, 2006–April 30, 2006
Sam Houston Memorial Museum; Huntsville, Texas

September 1, 2006–October 5, 2006
Tulsa Community College SE Campus; Tulsa, Oklahoma

October 21, 2006–November 30, 2006
River Valley Pioneer Museum; Canadian, Texas

September 1, 2008–October 5, 2008
Stauth Memorial; Montezuma, Kansas

Available Dates:

May–August 2006; December 2006–August 2008; October 2008–January 2009

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