Pushing the Surface returns to museum
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum’s new special exhibit, Pushing the Surface, will be on display through Sunday, June 18. Contributed | Beacon
COSHOCTON – The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum’s new special exhibit, Pushing the Surface, will be on display through Sunday, June 18. The exhibition features 26 contemporary art quilts created by artists from seven states and one international country, Israel. The artists were asked to display two art quilts – an early piece along with a new one. The pleasure in a retrospective exhibit of this sort is seeing how the artist and the art form itself has altered or perhaps matured over the years.
For those unfamiliar with the art quilt genre, these works value creativity and experimental techniques rather than the classic form and hand-stitched meticulousness of a traditional quilt. Although most of the works share the basic structural characteristics of a quilt – joining at least two layers of fiber with stitching, they break from tradition in their design methods. For this year’s show John Lefelhocz surprised everyone with an electronic quilt. The pattern is traditional but the quilt is electronic, presenting a light show on the “quilt” screen. Lefelholcz has a tradition of presenting unusual quilts. One year he used bicycle chains to create an image of racing bicyclists.
Most of the artists have shown in previous Pushing the Surface exhibits over the past 20 years. Each has a distinctive style and the cultivation of their artistry over the years has produced even more intriguing expressions. Ohio artists include Clare Murray Adams, John Lefelhocz, Carolyn Mann Brinkhaven and Susan Shie. All have shown in national or regional exhibits and have their quilts featured in books, periodicals and traveling exhibitions. The exhibit is truly a dance of color, beauty, ingenuity and story.
This is the 10th year Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum has presented this biennial exhibit sponsored by the Mary Taylor Family. The Ohio Arts Council also helped fund this event with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. In addition to this special exhibit, the museum’s permanent collections are displayed in three galleries: Historic Ohio, American Indian and Asian. A printing display can also be viewed in a fifth gallery.
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is open daily from noon to 5 p.m. The museum is located at 300 N. Whitewoman St., in Historic Roscoe Village. A restored canal-era town sited along the former Ohio & Erie Canal, Roscoe Village offers many attractions. Costumed interpreters lead tours through the restored buildings, and numerous shops are situated within the Village.
For information, contact JHM at 740-622-8710, e-mail jhmuseum@jhmuseum.org or visit www.jhmuseum.org.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
