On View September 2020:
Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth | Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) Juried Exhibition
On view: Friday, September 4th - Saturday, September 26th
Gallery hours: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 12 - 4pm | Thursday 4 - 8pm
Please Note: Although IGCA will not be hosting a First Friday opening event, we will be open on First Friday for our regular gallery hours of 12-4pm.
In lieu of in-person artist talks, artists are encouraged to gallery sit as an opportunity to connect with visitors directly in a way that still maintains safe social distancing protocols. Please check our social media platforms for updates and links on our showing artists, including gallery sitting days. Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages and/or subscribe to our newsletter.
One ocean, 45 artists: International art quilt group exhibit probes the Pacific
Created as a group exhibit to shine a light on the issues facing the Pacific Ocean today, Shifting Tides is a collection of work by artists chosen from the seven Pacific-facing regions of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). An international organization that promotes the quilt as an art form, SAQA has a history of inviting artists to explore topical, sometimes controversial topics. With this latest show, the organization’s west-coast members explore the earth’s largest ecosystem.
The 45 works range widely in content and technique, drawing on realism, abstract, and nonrepresentational depictions. The pieces on display were chosen from more than 160 submissions from SAQA artists. Curated by renowned textile artist, Ann Johnston, the exhibit offers a variation of style and context about the plight of oceans and the communities they support.
“The intention of the exhibit was not only to choose good pieces but also to include a representative range of habitats and issues in reference to our Pacific ecosystem,” Johnston shares, “I also wanted to include a range of design approaches and construction techniques. I think the resulting exhibit is a showcase of art that will enlighten the viewers about quilts and encourage exploration of solutions to one of our most anguishing ecological problems.”
SAQA was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications.
Images:
Beth Blankenship (Anchorage, AK). Nowhere To Run To, Nowhere To Hide, 2018. Polyester and rayon thread, water-soluble stabilizer, commercial fabric, fusible interfacing and glass beads. 48 x 27 inches.
Cat Larrea (Anchorage, AK). Tidewater Glacier, 2018. 100% cotton, cotton thread, eco-fi felt batting. 30 x 36 inches.
Maria Shell (Anchorage, AK). Break Up, 2018. Vintage, contemporary, and hand dyed fabrics, batting, thread. 40 x 30 inches. Photo credit: Chris Arend.
Nan Thompson (Moose Pass, AK). Copper River Flats, 2018. Hand-dyed and commercial cottons. 46 x 37 inches. Photo credit: Kwangsook Schaefermeyer.