June Issue 2001
Quilts And Critters at the Green Hill Center for NC Art
Four exhibitions exploring North Carolina's
folk and fiber traditions will be showing in the Greensboro Cultural
Center in Greensboro, NC, from June 9 through Aug. 24. The exhibitions
were organized by the Green Hill Center for NC Art in collaboration
with the NC State University Gallery of Art & Design, the
Guilford Native American Gallery, and the Mattye Reed African
Heritage Center.
Textiles: North Carolina Art Quilts, will be on exhibition
at the Green Hill Center for NC Art. The contemporary art quilt
has emerged in the last 25 years out of the old folk tradition
of hand-pieced quilts. North Carolina has a particularly rich
history in the fiber arts, including African American, Native
American and European-American traditions. Many of the 19 contemporary
artists in this exhibition are inspired by these cultures, but
bring to their quilts a wealth of other resources and artistic
training that places their work firmly in the category of the
art of our time.
On exhibit in the Mattye Reed African Heritage Center Gallery
is 150 Years of North Carolina Quilts: Selections from the
Pattie Royster James Collection. This exhibit features traditional
quilts in a traveling exhibition from the permanent collection
of the Gallery of Art & Design at NC State University, Raleigh,
NC. Robert James began this collection for St. James Place, a
restored Primitive Baptist Church in his hometown, Robersonville
in Martin County, NC. Although many of the quilts were created
for functional purposes, James prides the makers with an "eye
and instinct for good design." He states, "The fundamentals
of form, shape, color, line and texture, including composition,
proportion, scale, cohesiveness and pattern, were ingrained in
their being."
The Guilford Native American Gallery will host A Cover Story
of Warmth and Tradition: Native American Quilts Past and Present.
Organized in collaboration with Green Hill, this exhibit will
feature historical quilts from different tribes in NC.
Also on view at Green Hill Center is Varmints, Critters, and
Tales: Leeann Blake, Lucien Koonce and Senora Lynch. North
Carolina's folk traditions, including Native American, African-American,
and European-American objects made of clay, stories, and music,
are the inspiration behind the work of these three contemporary
clay artists. Senora Lynch is inspired by the stories and spiritual
associations of animals that abound in Native American tradition.
Lucien Koonce is influenced by traditional European-American potters
who settled in the Seagrove area as well as NC folk tales about
animals. Leeann Blake relates to the narrative tradition in southern
storytelling, music, and pottery.
For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings
or call the Green Hill Center at 336/333-7460.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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Carolina Arts
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Copyright© 2001 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
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