Colorful Quilts and Fiber Arts Showcased at Piedmont Arts

10th biennial quilt exhibit features 40 artists from across Southeast

For the tenth year, colorful textiles created by quilt artists from across the Southeast will be on display at Piedmont Arts as part of the biennial invitational exhibit, The Art of the Quilt: Let’s Celebrate.

The exhibit will be on display at the museum November 12 – December 31, 2016.

Forty artists will take part in this fiber arts showcase curated by master quilter Linda Fiedler that features hand- and machine-stitched quilts, traditional textiles, clothing, accessories and quilt art.

Fiedler is an award-winning quilt maker from Meadows of Dan, Va. Her quilts have won national and international awards and her quilted clothing has appeared in such prestigious shows as the Fairfield Fashion Show and the Hobb’s Fashion Show in Paducah, Ky. Fiedler's quilts also hang in private and corporate collections throughout the country.

Fiedler says two of her personal goals as a quilt artist are to educate the community to the many wonderful changes taking place in the evolution of the quilt and to present quilts in a gallery setting. "Piedmont Arts shares these goals and provides the beautiful gallery,” she continued. “I applaud Piedmont Arts for their vision and commitment and look forward with a great deal of anticipation to future quilts and to future shows in their state-of-the-art galleries.”

Quilts by local and regional artists will also be on display in the museum’s Lynwood Artists Gallery as part of an exhibit curated by members of Martinsville’s Virginia Foothills Quilters Guild.

"Quilts are a universal art form," said Piedmont Arts Director of Exhibitions Heidi Pinkston. "Many of us have experienced the comfort of a special quilt, passed down from a loved one or made with purpose to celebrate a birth or event. We all know how to utilize quilts for their utilitarian purpose, but The Art of the Quilt offers us a chance to revel in the artistry required to create such amazing and intricate works."

Piedmont Arts will host a Members-Only Reception in honor of these exhibits on Friday, November 11 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at the museum. Piedmont Arts members, prospective members, artists and guests are invited to attend. This reception is sponsored by River Community Bank, Patterson Foundation, Virginia Consortium of Quilters, Virginia Foothills Quilting Guild and Lynwood Artists.

In celebration of The Art of the Quilt’s tenth anniversary, the state-wide organization, Virginia Consortium of Quilters, will host its quarterly meeting in Martinsville during the exhibition. The group’s members will meet on Saturday, November 12 at New College Institute in Uptown.

Piedmont Arts hours are Tuesday – Friday from 10 am – 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am – 3 pm. Admission is free.