Quilts have been treasured for their aesthetic beauty since at least the time of the Crusades. While originally worn under armor for cushioning or used as bedding, artists have since expanded the craft to express themselves in increasingly complex fashion.
Broderie Perse quilts, popular in the 17th century, feature cut out graphics appliquéd onto a solid background to create a print-like image. Quilts with elements arranged in geometric patterns, such as medallion quilts, present abstract designs of colour and form. Friendship quilts, such as the well-known Baltimore Album Quilts, combine intricate blocks of appliquéd fabric to further push the boundaries of fabric artistry.
In the 19th century, slave folk-artist Harriet Powers used traditional methods to create a non-traditional effect. Her quilts tell stories in the way that tapestries do. More recently, the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt integrated the work of tens of thousands of people to revolutionize the concept of “quilt,” honoring those who have died from AIDS.
Luke Haynes further manipulates the quilting tradition, combining the geometric artistry of medallion quilts with the narrative advances of Harriet Powers. Working from photographs, Luke Haynes disassembles, digests, and reconstructs images as progressive cloth murals. His modern style, adapted to his personal vision and to this fertile medium, represents the cutting edge of quilting art.
