Seventy-three art quilts at Auburn's Schweinfurth Art Center turn fleeting woodland light, personal memories and responses to violence into fabric, as the center's 45th annual Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibition continues through Jan. 3, 2027.
The show includes works by artists from Manlius, Syracuse and other regional communities alongside national and international participants, according to a news release from the center. Paula Kovarik's solo fiber-art exhibition, HERD, is also on display.
The quilt exhibition opened Oct. 31 at 205 Genesee St. Its award winners include Shin-hee Chin's “Bare Trees,” which received Best in Show, and Julie Reuben's “Connect #2,” which won first prize.
Personal memories stitched into fabric
Kathy Ford of Worthington, Massachusetts, based “Portal” on a walk through a break in a stone wall. Looking back, she saw twisted tree limbs forming a circle with morning light shining through. The quilt is an abstract rendering of that brief view.
“The light shifts, and it's gone,” Ford said in her artist's statement.
Reuben, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated “Ner Tamid (Eternal Light)” to her mother, Paula Reuben. The piece recalls stained-glass windows in her mother's synagogue and the aesthetic influence Reuben sees in her own work.
Susan Griffith of Manlius created “In Memory of John Turner” in response to racial discrimination and the deaths of George Floyd and Turner, a Syracuse resident and her friend who was shot to death by a neighbor in 2022, according to the release.
Griffith said she met Turner in 2017 or 2018 while doing some work with him. She recalled his frustration with finding a job and his feeling that race was often a barrier. He would periodically visit when he needed someone to talk to.
Griffith began planning the quilt after Floyd's death. Its many small pieces and extensive handwork made progress slow; Turner's death pushed her to finish. Dozens of tiny scraps form the background, with a brown design stitched over them. A close look reveals the words “Black lives matter.”
Memorials, data and displacement
Jo-Ann Morgan of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, contributed “Lexi's Mom, Uvalde, Texas,” part of a 20-quilt series commemorating children killed in the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. The work depicts a mother's arm tattooed with a drawing by her daughter, Alexandra “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio.
Morgan said the children's age affected her because her daughter was nearly 10 when Morgan adopted her. She first made a quilt memorializing Eliahna Cruz Torres, a softball player. By the fifth quilt, she knew she wanted to commemorate all the children.
Rachel Ivy Clarke of Syracuse uses “Disproportionate” to present a data-based comparison of white men's share of the U.S. population with their representation in crime figures reported to the FBI. The piece reflects her examination of categories including homicide, sexual offenses and kidnapping.
Judy Zoelzer Levine of Bayside, Wisconsin, addresses migration and displacement in “Life in Limbo.” Dark thread on a light background forms portraits of women, some with children, while a lower panel lists causes of migration including flooding, poverty, drought, war, hunger and trafficking.
“Women, especially, sometimes experience extraordinary long waits or abandonment in these camps,” she said in her artist's statement about immigration camps.
Other regional participants include Beverly Kondolf of Romulus with “Former Glory,” Denise Kooperman of Trumansburg with “Green Kimono,” Pat Pauly of Rochester with “Chaos,” Linda Salitrynski of Painted Post with “Hand in Hand,” and Carla Stetson of Willseyville with “Forty Years of Fire and Water.”
Awards and artist talks
Amanda Milz received the Finger Lakes Fiber Artists' Award for Surface Design for “Portal (1).” Cheryl Costley's “TERRA FIRMA” received the Schweinfurth Award. Juror's Choice honors went to Rodger Blum's “Event Horizon No. 1” and Elaine Cawadias' “Normal Is an Illusion.”
Four Sunday Trunk Shows begin at 2 p.m., with artists displaying work and discussing their process and inspiration. Griffith appears Nov. 8, Salitrynski Nov. 15 and Clarke Dec. 13.
The Nov. 22 program, Threads of Self: Quilting Story, Care + Resistance, features Rochele Royster, Liz Lance, Soup Russell and selected Threads of Self participants. The talks are included with regular admission.
Also on view is “Quilts for Art,” a raffle of small quilts made by artists in the exhibition.
Hours, admission and holiday changes
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Thanksgiving, Dec. 24, Christmas and New Year's Day, and closes at 2 p.m. Nov. 25 and Dec. 31.
Regular admission is $10, or $15 for joint admission to the Cayuga Museum. Schweinfurth members, participating artists, active military personnel and visitors 16 and younger enter free.
The multi-arts center opened in 1981 through a bequest from Auburn-born architect Julius Schweinfurth. It offers more than a dozen exhibitions each year and educational programs for children and adults. More exhibition information is available at SchweinfurthArtCenter.org.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
