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Abstract Design in American Quilts at 50
Fifty years after its debut, the exhibition Abstract Design in American Quilts is remembered as a pivotal moment in the intersecting histories of art, craft, and design. Installed at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art in 1971, the exhibition presented traditional American pieced quilts on walls more commonly used to display modern art such as abstract expressionist paintings. The exhibition, curated by Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof from their own collection, unexpectedly struck a chord with museumgoers and art critics alike, breaking attendance records and subsequently traveling to museums across the United States, Europe, and Japan.
With Abstract Design in American Quilts at 50 , an exhibition series that includes an installation of the original quilt group, the International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln reexamines the half-century impact of this watershed exhibition. In five essays, leading quilt scholars assess the areas upon which the exhibition, in its various iterations, had its greatest impact, most notably the growth of quiltmaking across the United States and in art circles. The essays also discuss broader cultural phenomena that produced an environment in which quilts and other forms of material culture could be viewed and valued in new ways.
With Abstract Design in American Quilts at 50 , an exhibition series that includes an installation of the original quilt group, the International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln reexamines the half-century impact of this watershed exhibition. In five essays, leading quilt scholars assess the areas upon which the exhibition, in its various iterations, had its greatest impact, most notably the growth of quiltmaking across the United States and in art circles. The essays also discuss broader cultural phenomena that produced an environment in which quilts and other forms of material culture could be viewed and valued in new ways.
175 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2021
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April 19, 2023
In 1971, a landmark show on patchwork quilts opened at the Whitney Museum in New York. These quilts were acclaimed because of their resemblance to contemporary abstract art. In 2021 we judge them on their own merits.
The book isn’t really about the quilts, but about the exhibit. If you that interests you will be rewarded. I only found this mildly informative, but then I’ve been on a steady diet of quilt books for the past few months.
But I did enjoy seeing the vintage 1971 quilts, as well as today’s modern ones. This included some contemporary Japanese interpretations of the older originals.
The book isn’t really about the quilts, but about the exhibit. If you that interests you will be rewarded. I only found this mildly informative, but then I’ve been on a steady diet of quilt books for the past few months.
But I did enjoy seeing the vintage 1971 quilts, as well as today’s modern ones. This included some contemporary Japanese interpretations of the older originals.
Displaying 1 of 1 review