Exhibition

Quilts are America’s great art experiment: monumental compositions in color, pattern, geometry, and representation, made for centuries, primarily by women. The American Folk Art Museum has been at the forefront of the movement to bring recognition to quilts as a major art form with deep roots in American life and experience. The Museum’s collection is distinctive for highly individualized expressions in a yielding and unforgiving medium, challenging the maker to test the limits imposed by cutting and piecing bits of fabric. The quilts presented here are graphically striking examples that embody a sense of “wall power,” bringing a 19th-century sensibility to a timeless form. 

This presentation of quilts is organized as part of the Museum’s role as The Winter Show’s Cultural Partner. Read an essay by Jason T. Busch that appears in The Winter Show’s catalog.

 Wall Power! Spectacular Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum was originally curated by Stacy C. Hollander. The exhibition tour is coordinated by Emelie Gevalt, Curator of Folk Art and Curatorial Chair for Collections.