Stitching California: Fiber Artists Interpret the State’s People, Life, and Land, the online exhibition will run through April 4, 2021. It showcases an exciting collection of art quilts that interpret the complexities of the Golden State. Viewers will enjoy a balanced show of beauty, originality, thought-provoking content, realistic and abstract imagery, and quality workmanship.
Presenting a well-rounded picture of a complex state, Stitching California displays works from over 40 artists working in California and neighboring states today. Their dynamic offerings pay tribute to iconic California views, and to the beautiful native flora of the state. But distinct, darker themes also emerge: the impacts of climate change through drought, flood, and fire; the lasting detrimental effects of the Gold Rush; and persecutions faced by California’s Indigenous peoples, Hispanic population, and Japanese Americans interned during World War II. Rendered in diverse ways, Stitching California’s 2D and 3D fiber works contain references to industry, economy, geography, and topography, and run the emotional gamut from hope to despair.
Stitching California was curated by Holly Brackmann and Jennifer Landau of Studio Art Quilt Associates, a nonprofit organization whose members challenge the boundaries of art and change perceptions about contemporary fiber art. It originated at the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, CA and is traveled through Exhibit Envoy in partnership with Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).
The Hi-Desert Nature Museum has partnered with the Morongo Basin’s Cactus Sew-ables Quilt Guild and Kim’s Fabric Outlet to present this exhibit.
