“Outrageous Cells” by Nancy Cordry (Seattle, Wash.), 2015, 100 percent cottons, commercial and hand dyed by the artist, machine pieced and quilted by the artist, 78¼ by 79½ inches.
GREENSBURG, PENN. – “Circular Abstractions: Bull’s Eye Quilts,” a touring exhibition that features some of the best machine-piecing and quilting being done today, will be on view at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art through March 10.
Organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and curated by Nancy Crow, a fine art quilt maker herself, “Circular Abstractions” displays 41 quilts by 32 artists who were challenged to create works that interpreted the bull’s-eye pattern, traditionally a four-quadrant design with a bull’s-eye at the center of each quarter.
Artists responded to the invitation by deconstructing and reassembling the bull’s-eye into new compositions, resulting in a strikingly complex body of images, with each piece conveying its own distinct voice. Many of the artists maintain the quadrants, while others have circles that break those boundaries.
“I was drawn to this exhibition when it was first offered by the Muskegon Museum of Art because I was fascinated with the variety and complexity that the artists achieved by using a simple bull’s-eye pattern,” said Barbara Jones, chief curator of the Westmoreland. “Speaking through the fundamental tools of art making – pattern, color, design, composition, rhythm, value and movement – these pieces communicate a host of impressions and narratives.”
“We are very excited for our visitors to experience this exhibition featuring some of the best fine artists working in textiles and pushing the boundaries of quilt making,” said Anne Kraybill, the Richard M. Scaife director and chief executive officer of the Westmoreland.
This exhibition is made possible by the Hillman Exhibition Fund of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and through the generosity of our members and donors.
Committed to stimulating imagination and innovation through great experiences with art, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art is the only museum dedicated to American art in western Pennsylvania. The Westmoreland’s permanent collection, with its strong focus on the art and artists of southwestern Pennsylvania, is complemented by an impressive schedule of temporary exhibitions – both nationally traveling exhibitions and those organized by the museum – as well as community-oriented programming and special events.
The Westmoreland is at 221 North Main Street. For information, 724-837-1500 or www.thewestmoreland.org.
