The People and Portraits exhibition featuring quilts in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts will be on display until December.
The Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA), an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting quilt art, created the exhibition. SAQA was founded in 1989, and supplies quilted artwork to venues around the world. The Quick Center secured the People and Portraits exhibition through SAQA, and it has been on display since September.
The exhibition is comprised of quilts made by 20 different artists from around the world. Each artist has two quilts on display.
“The whole idea was people and portraiture,” said Sean Conklin, assistant curator of the Quick Center. “The artists’ understanding of representing a person in fabric art.”
People and Portraits celebrates the expressiveness of the human face. The exhibition was also based on the companion book, Art Quilt Portfolio: People & Portraits. The diverse design highlights the variety of fabrics and modern quilting themes, as well as the variety of human emotion, Conklin said.
“When you think of quilting, you usually think of little old lady quilting-bees,” said Conklin. “You don’t really think about immersive, vibrant quilts.”
The exhibition has been popular with Bonaventure students, likely due to the shock value of the pieces, said Conklin.
“It’s a really old school technique with a really modern style,” said Conklin. “Just like traditional quilting, these modern quilts tell a story, but with narration that is easier to grasp.”
The exhibit has also garnered interest from locals, said Conklin.
“We had the Bona Buddies in here last week, and I’ve never heard them so quiet,” said Conklin. “I’ve even invited older ladies from my church to visit, and they’ve told me they’ve started using some of the modern styles in their quilting at home.”
The exhibition will be on display in the Paul W. Beltz Gallery on the second floor of The Quick Center until Dec. 18.
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