Quilting takes on different meanings for everyone because of its built-in Americana pattern construction. But when the GRAM's
The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter opens up this Thursday to members (and then Friday to the public), patrons will see this African American artist's uncanny knack for creating the equivalent of jazz music with a style all her own.
This new fiber arts exhibition builds off the impressive historical and biographical show,
Quilting Genius II: The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter, presented in 2008 at Detroit's Henry Ford Museum.
For the GRAM's installation, these works have been recast within the framework of a gallery, giving the works a bold new context in which to explore her purposeful approach to quilting.
"In this era of instant messaging, rapid prototyping, and flash mobs, it is an honor for GRAM to encourage wider awareness and deeper admiration for the handmade quilts of a poor Alabama sharecropper who crafted objects of great authenticity and beauty despite limited resources," says GRAM's Director and CEO, Dana Friis-Hansen. "Our times have our own advocates for individual expression, artisanal methods, and taking the time to enjoy the pleasures of creation -- such as the "slow" movement, "maker" culture, grassroots "simple living," and communal "hackerspaces" -- that have parallels to communal and collaborative social activities from the past. Hunter was known to be an active community participant and nurturing neighbor."
The shared use of the quilts is a part of their history, as Hunter would often craft them for those who needed respite from the chill night air. While created long before the current trend of participatory art, these works were ahead of the curve in many ways.
In addition to a Thursday night guest lecture by Jeanine Head Miller, curator of Domestic Life at The Henry Ford Museum, the GRAM also has a special opening night party on May 9. See the GRAM's website for all their programming associated with Hunter’s show.
In addition to Hunter's opening, be sure to visit GRAM's Michigan Artists Series gallery on the first floor where new drawings and sculpture from Detroit artist Heather McGill are on display. Her
Oblique Angle exhibition, with its use of highly reflective paints, is a nod to the technical influence of the Motor City. McGill is the Head of the Sculpture Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Admission: Thursday's lecture and after-party is free to members. (see the
GRAM's site for more details.)