Visual Thoughts: The Art Quilts of Fiber Revolution
WHEN: June 23 – October 16, 2011
WHERE: Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road (at the corner of Columbia Turnpike) in Morristown
ADMISSION: $10 for adults and $7 for children, students and senior citizens. Admission is free for museum members and is free to the public every Thursday between 5 and 8 PM. For more information, call 973.971.3700, or visit www.morrismuseum.org.
Visual Thoughts: The Art Quilts of Fiber Revolution presents nineteen works by nineteen textile artists.
The opening reception for the exhibition takes place on June 29, from 6:30 – 9:00 PM. At the opening, the public is invited to tour the exhibition, meet the artists and enjoy light refreshments; tickets for the reception are $10 and may be reserved by calling 973.971.3706. (Right: Reflections 6, Virginia Abrams, 2009, Hand dyed cottons, cotton batting. Collection of the artist.)
About Fiber Revolution and Guest Curator Kevan Lunney
Fiber Revolution is a network of professional textile artists whose collective goal is to provide greater visibility of their art while educating the public about fiber art as an exciting art form. Although the art is constructed from fabric, it is not meant to lie at the foot of the bed, but rather to hang on the wall like an oil or watercolor painting. The artists exhibiting their work under the Fiber Revolution name use fiber as their medium: dyeing it, painting it, cutting it, tearing it, stamping it, fusing it and embellishing it. The final step, stitching through the layers of fabric, brings a dimensional depth to the artwork that mere paint cannot. (Above: Archeology Series:Fragment #15, Enso, Kevan Rupp Lunney, 2011, Linen, cotton, bamboo batting,paint, composite gold leaf. Collection of the artist.)
Fiber Revolution member Kevan Rupp Lunney, of East Brunswick, NJ, is the exhibition curator of Visual Thoughts: The Art Quilts of Fiber Revolution. Lunney’s personal fascination with textiles began as a young child, when she took naps under her grandmother’s pastel depression-era quilts. Now, she considers making art with fabric "a medium which allows tremendous freedom of expression, and continues to be challenging with the breadth of possible techniques from painting, printing and dyeing to computer-generated imaging on cloth." Discussing the creative process, Lunney quotes author Jonathan Swift, who said, “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” Lunney says, “Without the picture in our mind’s eye, that little thought out of nowhere, there would be no art making, and indeed no exhibits. This exhibition celebrates the spark - the moment when thoughts are visualized.” She suggests that visitors to the exhibition consider “it is often difficult to remember, when viewing a finished work, that it all began as one small idea, a leap in the dark, no matter how experienced the artist.” (Above: Windfall, Melitta VanderBrooke, 2008, Cotton, silk, Setacolor transparent fabric paint. Collection of the artist.)
Fiber Revolution Artists included in the exhibition are:
- Virginia Abrams, Hockessin, DE
- Natalya Aikens, Pleasantville, NY
- Deborah J. Bein, Poughkeepsie, NY
- Benedicte Caneill, Larchmont, NY
- Lisa Chipetine, West Hempstead, NY
- Melissa Craven Fowler, Ithaca, NY
- Cindy Friedman, Merion, PA
- Martha C. Hall, Vernon, NJ
- Gloria Hansen, East Windsor Twp., NJ
- Eileen Lauterborn , Farmingdale, NY
- Kevan Lunney, East Brunswick, NJ
- Barbara Barrick McKie, Lyme, CT
- Judith Plotner, Gloversville, NY
- Wen Redmond, Strafford, NH
- Carol Sara Schepps, Princeton Junction, NJ
- Deborah Schwartzman Philadelphia, PA.
- Kate Themel, Cheshire, CT
- Melitta VanderBrooke, Newtown, PA
- Carolyn Lee Vehslage, Erial, NJ
About the Morris Museum:
The Morris Museum is an award-winning, community-based arts and cultural institution which serves the public through the presentation of high caliber permanent and changing exhibitions in the arts, sciences and history. The Museum also offers educational programs, family events, and is home to the Bickford Theatre and its wide range of performing arts offerings. Continuously serving the public since 1913, the Morris Museum has been designated a Major Arts Institution and has received the New Jersey State Council on the Arts’ Citation of Excellence, among other awards. This exhibition was made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; the F.M. Kirby Foundation and private donations.
The Museum is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 11 AM to 5 PM; Thursday, 11 AM to 8 PM; and Sunday, 1-5 PM.
