The Morris Museum Opens The Art Quilts of Fiber Revolution

Written by Jennifer Paxman Thursday, 23 June 2011 21:58

Morristown, NJ.- The Morris Museum is pleased to announce "Visual Thoughts: The Art Quilts of Fiber Revolution", which presents nineteen works by nineteen textile artists and is on view from June 23rd through October 16th. The opening reception for the exhibition takes place on June 29, from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. 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. 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.” the Fiber Revolution Artists included in the exhibition are, Virginia Abrams, Natalya Aikens, Deborah J. Bein, Benedicte Caneill, Lisa Chipetine, Melissa Craven Fowler, Cindy Friedman, Martha C. Hall, Gloria Hansen, Eileen Lauterborn, Kevan Lunney, Barbara Barrick McKie, Judith Plotner, Wen Redmond, Carol Sara Schepps, Deborah Schwartzman, Kate Themel, Melitta VanderBrooke and Carolyn Lee Vehslage.

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 was incorporated in 1943, and the outreach education program began in 1950 with a series of in-school presentations for Morris County students, including talks about American Indian culture. In 1963, having outgrown its fourth location, the Morris Museum acquired "Twin Oaks," the former Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen family estate. Mr. Frelinghuysen was a lawyer and banker and was the grandson of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, the secretary of state under President Chester Arthur. Today, this architecturally significant Georgian-style mansion is the heart of the museum's exhibition space. To support expanding activities and programs, successful capital campaigns have made it possible to add to the facility since then. In 1970, the gallery space was increased and a 312-seat theatre was added. In 1990, the museum complex was further expanded to the present 75,524 square feet. The Morris Museum collection currently consists of approximately 48,700 objects. Individual areas of the museum's distinguished collection include costumes and textiles, fine art, decorative art, dolls and toys, natural science, geology and paleontology, and anthropology. Objects from the collection are presented in permanent and changing exhibitions. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.morrismuseum.org

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