IQA Trends - New to Me

This was the first year I had been to IQA Houston in many years, but I saw several trends that may not be new to others but were to me.

The artist name is Naoko Takeshita. She called the quilt "Green Message"

 
I loved the muted palette, the exquisite hand embroidered clover flowers and the wonderful quilting. The texture is wonderful. It is hard to see, but this was one of the quilts with muted, patterned background fabrics. They add a real richness to the piece.

This is another of the muted backgrounds. The artist used a small stripe for the background. Wonderful hand applique work. This is another quilt where I do not have records of the quilter's name.

Loved this piece, called Tulip Fire by Susan Stewart, with its lovely textures, the embroidery, the exquisite quilting and the textures. Notice the pin tucks in the center of the top photo. This is another with a muted stripe for the background.

Another trend I saw was pictorial quilts with small pieced elements to add interest and depth to the imagery. In the top photo look at the interest added between tree trunks with pieced elements, also in the path, and the front vegetation. Sizes of pieces reminded me of the "watercolor" quilts of a decade or more ago, but in a new presentation.

I have a couple more IQA groups of photos to add, so let me know if your find them of interest.

Thanks for reading,

Nancy

More Quilts from Houston- African American Exhibition

The exhibition of contemporary African American quilts was delightful with lots of variety, from abstract to photo realism.  Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi curated the exhibition: A New Legacy Revealed: African American Quilts. Dr. Mazloomi assembled some very well known artists for the exhibition and some who were lesser known to me at least.

Here are a few photos of some of the work. Just a taste to whet the appetite.

The first three pieces all have some aspect where they break the traditional rectangular presentation. The first piece is by Carolyn Crump called Mae's Dance. The dancing figures are really captured and they break free of the grid to really enhance the feeling of the dance. Great presentation choice.

The second piece by Marlene Linton O"Bryant-Seabrook titled Dizzy: Bopped Out of South Carolina is another that breaks the grid presentation. The well known artist from South Carolina used the outline of the state to underscore the message of the title.

The third piece uses just the feet of the young girl to break from the grid. This charming piece is by Alice Beasley titled All My Roads Lead Back to You. This is based on a photograph of the artist's mother and grandfather. Great use of value and I love the darkened wall shadows behind the girl to make her stand out.

This interesting collage includes a dress that has been appliqued to the background. It is by Marion Coleman titled Downtown. Before the malls all ladies dressed up to go shopping downtown and that included not only a dress but gloves as well.

This stunning piece is by Juanita Yeager titled Franciscan Rose (Rose of Sharon). The composition is lovely but the quilting blew me away. In the second photo, look at the variety of detail added to the background with her quilting. And in the third photograph, look at the wonderful use of color to add the details to the center of the flower. Love the shadow on the rose. Great dimensionality.

The piece below is also by Juanita Yeager titled Hibiscus Syriacus (Rose of Sharon).  Yeager combines the tradition of quilting with the tradition of botanical art.

This is just a small taste of the quilts in this exhibition. Hopefully this is a traveling exhibition and can be seen by other audiences. It certainly deserves to be.

Please let me know if you are finding this series on IQA interesting. I have some more photos to share.

Nancy