Autumn Exhibits Announced

LA GRANGE, TEXAS – September 8, 2020 – The upcoming autumn exhibits at the Texas Quilt Museum virtually soar with a retrospective for one of quilting’s biggest superstars and an avian-themed juried show that really takes flight! Picture Perfect: Quilts by Cynthia England and Flying High: For the Love of Birds will be on display from September 24-December 30.

Noted art quilt collector and Museum supporter Frank Klein will give a free gallery talk for Flying High on Saturday, September 26, at 3 pm.

​Piece and Quiet (62” x 78,”) by Cynthia England, 1993, photo by Ken Wagner. From the exhibit Picture Perfect: Quilts by Cynthia England.

Picture Perfect: Quilts by Cynthia England features 13 remarkable quilts by England, who perfected her representational piecing technique in 1992. She is recognized internationally as an author, pattern designer, and fiber artist, and has won many competition awards including three Best of Show prizes at International Quilt Association’s annual Judged Show in Houston. Experimentation with quilting techniques led her to develop her own unique style, “picture piecing,” for interpreting photographs in spectacular pictorial quilts.

“In this process, she breaks down the picture into very small sections that can be sewn using straight seams exclusively. Viewers find it difficult to believe that paper piecing is not at all part of England’s technique,” says Museum Curator Dr. Sandra Sider.

In addition, England is the designer and owner of England Design Studios, a publishing/pattern company specializing in the picture-piecing technique with more than 75 patterns to her credit. She has also produced two books and a video explaining the process. This exhibit will be the subject of a special Museum Monograph, available for purchase.

​The Great One (44” x 30”) by Melanie Marr. From the exhibit Flying High: For the Love of Birds.

Flying High: For the Love of Birds will feature 41 quilts curated by Museum co-directors Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes. This visually exciting collection of art and contemporary traditional quilts celebrates our feathered friends and the many ways in which they help sustain our ecosystems.

The quilts depict water birds, including pelicans, egrets, ducks, an osprey, and a swan. Several artists created with a more abstract approach, using the colors and patterns of feathers for their striking artworks, while traditionally appliquéd quilts treat viewers to vividly ornamental interpretations of birds.

Dr. Sider says “This timely exhibition reminds us of the beauty and power of nature, as well as the vital importance of natural resources in maintaining the checks and balances of our own habitats.” Flying High is sponsored by the Lucille Gaebler Klein Fund.

In accordance with coronavirus-related guidelines set by the city of La Grange and the state of Texas, masks will be required for all Museumgoers. The Museum will also have reduced visitor capacity, asks that guests observe social distancing in the galleries, and will have extra hand sanitizer stations have been placed throughout the building.