Publication Date: March 2, 2010 | Series: 500 Series
A beautiful new addition to the successful series
A vibrant and growing community of crafters has embraced quilting, and this outstanding international collection will inspire and captivate them. Juried by Karey Bresenhan, one of the most prominent figures in quilting, it presents 500 magnificent contemporary art quilts, made in fabric and other media, and showcasing diverse designs, materials, and techniques.
From their very inception, these quilts were destined for display rather than practical use, with an extraordinary quality of image, form, line, and composition.
Artists include:
Pamela Allen - Alice Beasley - Eszter Bornemisza - Jane Burch Cochran - Judith Content - Chiaki Dosho - Noriko Endo - Caryl Bryer Fallert - Jamie Fingal - Linda Gass - Jenny Hearn - Judy Coates Perez - Yvonne Porcella - Susan Shie - Jen Swearington - and many more!
Today, quilts are finally overcoming their old-fashioned rap. Once perceived as blocklike, follow-the-rules fabric sandwiches, contemporary art quilts—with the emphasis on art—break the ancient code. Bresenhan truly has eyed and chosen 500 of the world’s best, hailing from France and Israel and other countries to the U.S. Each page delivers a different vision of what quilting means, along with the material and manufacturing details. A few examples: a tongue-in-cheek “Cow Pie” depicting, yes, cows meandering in a baked pie. Stark black-and-white whorls in a fingerprint (and so named). Undulating green fabric strips weaving into grass. Bold wisteria in a Tiffany-like stained-glass quilt. Two ready-to-play border collies in a field—just like some museum painting. The quilts here showcase a wide variety of painterly influences, multimedia techniques and materials, and aesthetic periods. Naive, ethnic (e.g., Latino and Native American), abstract, representational, three-dimensional, postmodern, and classics like Chagall and Matisse and Monet. An ooh and aah on every page. --Barbara Jacobs
Review
Praise for 500 Art Quilts by Ray Hemachandra and Karey Bresenhan:
"This collection of stunning contemporary art quilts is both visually and conceptually tantalizing. Juror Karey Bresenhan, the president of Quilts, Inc., and the director of the International Quilt Festival, offers a thoughtful introduction that reflects on the history of the art quilt. The quilts themselves represent the diversity of the medium and the vast array of approaches that can be taken within it. Styles range from realistic to abstract, and techniques from collage to patchwork. Many quilts demonstrate the finest examples of surface design, while others feature superb hand and machine stitching. One of the most moving aspects of this collection is the diversity of subject matters: portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, abstracts, and more evoke a wide range of sentiments and are a testament to the limitless possibilities of the art quilting medium. With so many artists included, this book introduces new and exciting talents amongst many recognizable favorites." — Quilting Arts Magazine
"The magnificent pieces found in 500 Art Quilts, edited by Ray Hemachandra, show how quilts are more than bedspreads — they are now considered true works of art found on gallery walls and in fine art museums. After a short introduction by Karey Patterson Bresenhan, founder and president of Quilts, Inc., the remaining 400 pages are filled with images of stunning 21st century quilts. Flipping through this colorful book, you'll find that 500 quilts are simply not enough." — AmericanStyle
“What an incredible feast for the eyes! These 500 wonderful works of art created with fabric and thread form a bountiful, international collection of the best in art quilts today. There is something new and engaging to discover on every page, one masterpiece after another. This gorgeous book is a must-have for every art lover, quilter, and fiber enthusiast.” — Martha Sielman, executive director of Studio Art Quilt Associates and curator of Masters: Art Quilts
Ray Hemachandra is the team lead and business manager for Lark Jewelry & Beading. In addition to his work at Lark, he is a mind/body/spirit writer and interviewer, a former magazine and newspaper editor, and an activist, advocate, and family trainer in the autism community. Originally from New York, he lives with his family in Asheville, North Carolina.
Ray has interviewed and written many articles about teachers and authors in the mind/body/spirit category, including Eckhart Tolle, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson, Byron Katie, Doreen Virtue, Sakyong Mipham, and Masaru Emoto, as well as many leading retailers, jewelers, beaders, and quilters.
His books as author or senior editor for Lark include The Penland Book of Glass; Beading with World Beads; Masters: Beadweaving and other Masters Series books, including Masters: Gold, Masters: Blown Glass, Masters: Polymer Clay, Masters: Earthenware, and Masters: Art Quilts, Volumes 1 and 2; and numerous books in the 500 Series, including Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry, 500 Raku, 500 Vases, 500 Judaica, 500 Art Quilts, and three furniture books in the series devoted to chairs, tables, and cabinets.
This review is from: 500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work (500 Series) (Paperback)
My copy arrived in mid January of 2010. It is a fantastic book for the textile artist, art collector, and gallery owner. The book has 500 images of art quilts produced by 346 textile artists. The book features work from 1989 to 2008 by expert fiber artists from across the US.
Many pieces also have detail images to show some of the minute detail that is missed in the full size images. Representational, abstract, social, political, and environmental artworks are presented in this book with full contact information provided for all of the included artists.
A must have book and a great visual experience of color, design, texture, and inspiration.
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This review is from: 500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work (500 Series) (Paperback)
This is a "must have" book for any art quilter, quilter, artist, and art/quilt enthusiast. I keep the book close to my favorite chair so that I can pick it up on a whim. Every time I look through the pages I see new and amazing things. A beautiful book that I hope will become a regular or semi-regular publication from Lark.
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This review is from: 500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work (500 Series) (Paperback)
Whether or not you are an artist working in the medium of fiber and thread you will find it hard not to be swept away into the pages of this book. You'll find yourself having a wide range of emotional responses as you turn each page. Some images will make you smile, some will make you reflect on moments of your own life and some will make you stop and think not only about how the quilt was created but the "why" behind it. Shot on a pure white background the images are clear and and sharp with some close up views to highlight surface details.
Karey Patterson Bresenhan, the juror of the selected works in this book says in her introduction "To me, each of the art quilts in this book comes with a hidden life - a life that is ours to interpret and enjoy. The pieces on these pages are imagination personified" As you flip through the pages of this book it's easy to understand that statement because it truly is like taking a peek inside the artists imagination as you look at each quilt. This book belongs on the coffee table of every quilter, fiber artist and art lover where it can be picked up and savored over and over again.
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