2009 Water Quilts: Jack Walsh III Collection  

November 4, 2009

Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Detail:

The theme for the 14th Annual Festival of Faiths, which runs from November 5 14, 2009, is Sacred Water: Sustaining Life. The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft are teaming up with the Center for interfaith Relations to present Water Quilts from the Collection of Jack Walsh.

Introduction:

Jack Walsh has been collecting contemporary art quilts since the early 1990s, and now has about 70 quilts in his collection. Guided by the astute eye of curator and author Penny McMorris, who teamed with Michael Kile in the mid-1980's to produce the exhibition that gave the art quilt its name, Jack has acquired important pieces by many top artists and also commissioned new work from people that he and Penny have felt would benefit most from his support. The Walsh collection now includes key pieces by such well known artists as Pauline Burbidge, Nancy Crow, Wendy Huhn, Michael James, Joan Lintault, Therese May, Jan Myers-Newbury, Joan Schulze, Susan Shie, and Pam Studstill, as well as remarkable works by artists who are far from being household names in the quilt world, such as Terese Agnew, Kyoung-Ae Cho, Lou Cabeen, Anne Kingsbury, John Lefelhocz, and Julie John Upshaw.

Jack says, 'The defining event in my life as a collector was and continues to be having the opportunity to be guided by Penny McMorris. Shortly after Penny and I decided to collaborate, she invited me to spend a day of orientation in the world of art quilts. We spent eight hours looking at slides covering the careers of fifteen artists. This was a key step in the development of my appreciation for the history and breadth of this medium. At the end of that day, I began to have a feel for the wide range of creative approaches different artists brought to their work. I started to understand the art quilt as offering unique opportunities for expression beyond other media such as painting, sculpture and printmaking. [And it left] no room for any doubt about the difference between art quilts and other quilts. This really is a new artistic medium.'

Because Jack runs a water treatment business and owns property with a waterfall he has loved since childhood, quite a few of the quilts in his collection have water themes. Some, like Lenore Davis Florida Surf, Karen Perrine's Forest Flowing, Catherine McConnell's Vermont Swimmers, and Wendy Huhn's Acid Rain, seemed tailor made for the collection, but Jack also has commissioned several artists to make quilts with water as their theme.

This sharing is typical of Jack Walsh. He generously loans pieces whenever museums or artists request them for exhibitions, and he loves nothing better than sharing his passion with friends and business associates. Jack says the intention of his collection is to document the art quilt movement through the best work available and adds, 'Penny and I look for innovation, for pieces that are real works of art, not just clever constructions, and for pieces where quilting is a significant part of the work. We look for work by people who are quilters.' Penny and Jack are always in search of emerging artists who are pushing the envelope in different ways, and they will follow any lead they uncover. They are constantly on the lookout, networking, visiting shows, reading quilt, art and craft journals, staying in contact with artists, looking at artist's websites, and keeping their ears to the tracks. They have found some of the most unusual and expressive quilts in the collection by looking beyond the major quilt exhibitions and outlets.

 

at Shands Gallery