One of the best museum exhibits I’ve ever seen was a collection of Amish quilts from Faith and Stephen Brown, on display at the de Young Museum in 2010. The exhibition featured quilts made by girls and women of various Amish communities in Pennsylvania and the Midwest during the period between the 1880s to the 1940s. Approaching from the hallway and seeing the bold swatches of color and the precision of these incredibly sophisticated geometric patterns, I felt like I was about to enter a room of modern abstract paintings. I’ve been researching geniuses in the field, both new and old, ever since. My newest discovery is young RISD graduate and contemporary textile artist Meg Callahan.
Meg Callahan’s quilt designs are just breathtaking. At times they follow a clean geometry, and at other times they break away, forming patterns that allow the eye to dance around forever. These one-of-a-kind pieces represent a variety of different approaches to quilt making: some use newer methods such as digital printing and industrial machine quilting, while the patchwork piece Harrah (shown last below) is entirely hand-stitched patchwork. The quilts are available for purchase at Matter; you can click here to learn more. — Kate
More images after the jump…
29 Comments
Love these. Particularly the amount of variety available in the range. just put an order in ;)
i love the one with the red and teal. so pretty!
These quilts are gorgeous, but I just have to comment about the pop-up ads–they’re really getting out of hand. I’ve gotten into the habit of just clicking “NEXT” on my Bloglovin frame the minute I see it coming… so annoying…
Absolutely lovely. Very sophisticated and thoughtful. Thanks for sharing this!
Those are absolutely amazing! Making me fall in love with quilts all over again. Such a modern take with the patterns and colors.
Oh wow – these are stunning.
lovely patterns!!!
LOVE this
Great inspiration. I’ve been wanting to make a quilt and while it won’t look like this, a girl can try! ;)
Have you been to her website?! Everything is so fresh!
I love quilts but not a fan of the cutsie patterns, these are AMAZING!
So awesome- wow!
So beautiful! I want one!!!!!
I love these quilts, thank you for sharing, since I do quilt I know what it take to do something like this. Very Nice.
How interesting that this follows the Alexandra Lange article, this is what she is talking about……. craft that elevates ! This is beautiful quilt making, well conceived and taking the craft to an artistic level. Not cutsey down home teddy bear picnic stuff.
Seriously? She hand stitches these? Unbelievable! I’m so impressed!
michelle
what pop up ads? there should be NO ads on the site that pop up without you clicking or rolling over them. if you are seeing any please please PLEASE tell me which ones and i’ll track it down and remove it immediately.
grace
Love these quilts and never thought I’d love a quilt! These are such timeless patterns and have such a beautiful woven look. I’m not sure I’d ever use them for practical purposes – just too pretty !
These are just fantastic
This is a copy of the work of Gunta Stölzl
marta
i definitely see similarities and a case of inspiration and admiration, but do you have any examples of direct copies? i can’t find any and i take accusations like that very seriously. please provide some examples on a case by case basis and i’d be happy to look into it.
grace
These are lovely. I am usually not drawn to quilts, however these have a wonderful asthetic appeal and clear attention to design and detail. The lines in each piece carefully move the throughout the composition. The lines, edges, and shapes are hard and sharp, yet each piece still has a wonderfully soft feel.
These are SO lovely! They remind me of a more subdued cousin to the Quilts of Gee’s Bend. (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quilts_of_Gees_Bend)
I love that every day objects are making their way into museums, it helps expand peoples thinking to see art every where.
ah! the quilty pleasures!
I love these, and I love Meg! Met her at risd, she is a sweet girl and I’m so glad to see she’s doing well. Keep making beautiful things!
Love the new take on an old art…so fresh!
These quilts are absolutely gorgeous! and honestly, look nothing like Gunta Stölzl’s work. I will take them all. So inspired by these! :)
I don’t believe “copy” is valid when it comes to quilting. It would be like implying that it was invented by one person. Like all art forms they can always be interpreted as being inspired by other people. Come on quilting is a craft that often different techniques are used – whatever happened to wow that was inspirational!
Wow! These are beautiful and so unique. This young lady is obviously very talented and has given a whole new fresh “eye” to quilts.
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