Newsroom: Columbus Museum of Art presents Quilting a Future: Contemporary Quilts and American Tradition opening October 6, 2023

Quilting a Future finds its roots in the Museum’s Wasserstrom Collection, a vast collection consisting of nearly 400 traditional American quilts ranging from the early nineteenth century to present day. Showcasing the expansive history of quilting, the Wasserstrom Collection provides a springboard for understanding the origins of the medium and the compelling treatment of quilting in contemporary art today. In addition to works by artists known and unknown from CMA’s Wasserstrom Collection, the exhibition features work by Max Adrian, Sanford Biggers, Bisa Butler, Avis Collins Robinson, Carolyn Crump, Vanessa German, Luke Haynes, Carla Hemlock, Letitia Huckaby, Sedrick Huckaby, Heather Jones, Wendy Kendrick, Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Tura Oliveira, Johnathan Payne, America Irby, Mensie Pettway, Priscilla Pettway, Faith Ringgold, Yvonne Wells, Dawn Williams Boyd, and Anthony Peyton Young. Across decades, the exhibition explores traditions of pattern and technique, and the expression of narratives and hidden language. Works on view speak to the utilitarian basis of historical quilting practices, including the use of quilts as coded guides for enslaved persons on the Underground Railroad, as well as the medium’s evolving creative context, previously being considered women’s work and outside the fine arts. “The nexus of Quilting a Future is the inheritance of technique through generations and the contemporization of traditions by some of the most inventive contemporary artists working today,” said co-curator Sarah Berenz. “The works on view created in recent decades showcase how quilting’s rich histories with regard to both form and function make the medium ripe with possibility for artistic experimentation and the exploration of contemporary issues.” <a href="https://medium.com/the-columbus-museum-of-art-blog/newsroom-columbus-museum-of-art-presents-quilting-a-future-contemporary-quilts-and-american-bdffbc58f335">Website</a>