On May 8 – July 11, 2015, the Carnegie Center for Art & History will present Form, Not Function: Quilt Art at the Carnegie, an exhibition exploring the world of contemporary art quilts. This annual, juried exhibit draws works of art by artists across the United States and celebrates innovation and creative thought in the increasingly popular medium of art quilts. It has grown over the years from the first exhibition in 2004, organized thanks to the efforts of the River City Fiber Artists, to the 2014 exhibition that received 302 entries from 120 artists, of which 25 were selected for the exhibition.
Each year, a variety of quilts in the Form, Not Function exhibition are recognized for their excellence through the presentation of awards. The awards include: the Carnegie Center, Inc. $1,000 Best of Show prize; a $500 Award of Excellence in memory of textile artist Alma Lesch, sponsored by the DELvelopment Foundation; a $300 Award of Excellence presented by River City Fiber Artists; a $200 Award of Excellence presented by the Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists; a $100 Award for Political and Social Commentary; a $100 Inspired by Nature Award and a $50 Visitors’ Choice Award, as well as additional Merit Awards sponsored by local individuals and organizations with an interest in the fiber arts.
Read about the 2015 jurors and enjoy images of the 2015 award-winning artworks below.
Meet the 2015 Jurors
John Lefelhocz is an American conceptual artist primarily known for his works in the textile arts, specifically quilts. He was born in 1967 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Ohio University (in Athens, Ohio). Since college, he has owned and operated Cycle Path Bicycle Shop in Athens while establishing himself as an artist. His art has gained higher recognition since the late 1990s. This can be attributed to inclusion in several Quilt National exhibitions at the Dairy Barn Art Center in Athens, Ohio. He has subsequently shown his works throughout the US and abroad. www.juxtapassion.com.
While working as a Registered Nurse, in 1983 Juanita Yeager began teaching herself how to make award-winning quilts that she has exhibited nationally. She counts among her many achievements: winning the Best Pieced Quilt in America award and having one of her quilts in the permanent collection of the Museum of the American Quilter. In 1991 Juanita retired from a corporate occupational health position to work full time as a quilted-fiber artist. Her large-scale, abstract floral works are widely collected and can be seem in both private and public spaces throughout the United States. Juanita lives in Central Florida where she maintains her in home studio and travels to teach. Currently, she is working exclusively with silk and watercolor pigments, employing a modified ancient oriental technique that uses soy milk as a fixative. www.juanitayeager.com.
Nancy Taylor is a Professor of Art at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where she has been teaching fiber arts for over 30 years. Nancy delights in exploring with students the possibilities of fiber, dye, weaving, piecing, embellishing and constructing. For her most current work she has been using natural dyes from local, wild growing plants in weaving and embroidery. This link to plant life is also appearing in her pieced works from digitally printed images of tree bark. Nancy’s work has been exhibited in numerous venues, including the 2014 Handweavers Guild of America Convergence. www.earlham.edu.