For Immediate Release
Lowell, MA—October 12, 2009. The New England Quilt Museum is excited to announce their new exhibition of international art quilts. “Masters: 40 Contemporary Master Quilters,” opens November 19, 2009 and explores the cutting edge of art quilting, with today’s most regarded global quilt artists represented in this comprehensive exhibition.
Guest curator Martha Sielman has assembled a seminal collection of representative works by master art quilters, explored in this exhibition and in Sielman’s companion book, Masters: Art Quilts. This expansive look at state-of-the-art quilting brings together works by artists from around the world including Australia, the UK, Japan, Israel, Hungary, France, South Africa, Denmark, and Belgium.

“Metamorphosis” made by Jane Sassaman in 2000
Artists included in the exhibition include Noriko Endo, whose detailed, realistic landscapes have won critical acclaim worldwide, Kyoung Ae Cho, whose minimalist wood constructions push the boundaries of the fiber art form, and Jane Sassaman, whose bold, sinuous designs have been widely respected among quilt lovers for over 20 years. The exhibition shows not only the wide geographic reach of quilting, but also its thematic range.
From energetic sculptural works to deeply personal portraits, from meticulous visual narratives to enigmatic still-lifes, art quilting embraces as many diverse forms as contemporary painting or sculpture. For those unfamiliar with the medium, the exhibition is a great introduction—for those who have long appreciated the art quilt, a welcome chance to see old favorites and new discoveries.
Sielman, herself a contemporary art quilter whose commissioned works are featured in many corporate and private collections, set out to gain a comprehensive view of contemporary quilt art, researching the works, techniques, and design philosophies of some of today’s leading artists.
The result was first her book Masters: Art Quilts, published in 2008 by Lark Books, and now the exhibition that bears its name, showcasing representative works by each of the forty artists profiled in the book.
This exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell is the only stop in the Northeast for the exhibition, and its last stop. This exhibit is the only chance for many to see key works by international artists seldom shown in the United States.
Masters opens on November 19, 2009, with a formal opening reception on Saturday, November 21 at 1pm. Sielman will be signing copies of her book, Masters: Art Quilts at the reception. The exhibition will run through February 25, 2010.
About the New England Quilt Museum
The New England Quilt Museum, located in Lowell, MA, preserves, interprets, and celebrates American quilting past and present.
Museum hours are 10 AM-4 PM Tuesday through Saturday; and Sundays 12-4 PM, May through December. The museum is closed during the first two weeks of January (Jan. 1-18).
Admission is $7, $5 for seniors and students, and free for museum members. Two for one admission for WGBH and AAA members.
Visit www.nequiltmuseum.org or call 978-452-4207, for more information.
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Christina Inge
Public Relations and Marketing
New England Quilt Museum
18 Shattuck St., Lowell, MA 01852
978-452-4207, ext. 19
This announcement brought to you by Patricia Cummings, Quilter’s Muse Publications as a public service.