THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505100174
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
``Full Deck Art Quilts,'' a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition, and ``Playing with a Full Deck,'' a Tidewater Artists Association juried show, will open at the Portsmouth Museums 1846 Courthouse Gallery on May 18 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
The collection of 54 quilted works was shown first at the Smithsonian. Portsmouth is the first stop on a three-year tour of the exhibition. Organized by Sue Pierce, a Maryland artist, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art, the show will be on exhibit here through July 4.
The TAA show will explore a broad interpretation of ``a full deck,'' exemplified by works embodying the concepts of fate, luck and chance. The works will be on display through June 18.
A pre-opening lecture by Lynn Sward, creator of the ``Queen of Diamonds'' in the quilt exhibit, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the 1846 Courthouse.
Three art quilting workshops by Judi Warren are scheduled in June. Her topics will including ``Fabric Postcards'' on June 8; ``The Garden and the Grid,'' June 9; ``Quilting a Geometric Surface,'' June 10.
The opening reception is free to museum members, $3 for non-members. The cost of the quilting workshops is $40 for members and $50 for non-members.
The exhibit theme dates to 1992, when Pierce began to combine the familiarity of playing cards with the warm tradition of quilts, to create a new context for fabric. ``Full Deck Art Quilts'' embodies a variety of technical, interpretive and stylistic approaches.
Quilt artists work in different ways. Some design carefully on graph paper or manipulate images on a computer. Some experiment with the placement of fabric in a collage-type technique. Some sew by hand while others use sewing machines.
The 54 quilted works in the exhibit include 52 playing cards and two jokers that demonstrate a full deck of layered fabric artworks all measuring 28 inches by 18 inches.
The themes vary. Joan Lintault's ``Ten of Clubs'' celebrates the interconnection of every living thing and the earth's self-regulating system. Dee Danley-Brown and Natasha Kempers-Cullen provide contrasting landscapes: rolling hills of vibrant color explode around a farmhouse in ``Seven of Spades'' while ``Three of Clubs'' explores the grim conformity of modern life.
A Picasso-esque ``Joker'' by Kathleen O'Connor shows a strong influence of Cubism by presenting three faces simultaneously and Linda Perry's ``Seven of Hearts'' makes reference to her long-standing interest in Art Deco. ILLUSTRATION: A Picasso-esque ``Joker'' by Kathleen O'Connor shows a strong
influence of Cubism.
by CNB