Layers of Meaning

History of the Art Quilt

A History of the Art Quilt
Excerpted from the book, The Art Quilt, this history covers the discovery of the quilt in the 1960s as a form of art and self expression through the late 1990s and the establishment of quilt art shows. Best of all is that there are hyperlinks to all of the major figures and several important shows involved in the rebirth of this traditional art form. This history is a good refresher of the movement's roots, but also the links are invaluable for tracing the growth and understanding where the art quilt movement is today.

Writing about the Quilts '76 show in Boston, Jane Holtz Kay in the alternative Real Paper noted, "[The show is] a real mixed bag--there are single creators and communal ones, designs that are syrupy coy and some as stunning as any of the abstractions of the hour. Quiltmaking is not simply design in fabric, but a new art form; the needle is no quick substitute for the brush and the quilt for all its charms no facile switch from the canvas. With all the drama and decorative strength here, then, there are perhaps only a dozen quilts that connect in quite the right way or linger in the mind long enough to define themselves as a fusion of fine art and fine craftsmanship. But that is probably enough for now. There is a takeoff if not a soaring here."