See ‘Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum’ in Dayton

Quilts tuck us in at night and keep us warm, but the threads of the artform go beyond comfort and cotton. The Dayton Art Institute features 20 of these   works in “Wall Power: Spectacular Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum,” an exhibition that shares the stories of women, American folk traditions and geography. 

Opening Oct. 17 and running through Jan. 10, the exhibition features quilts made during the mid-19th through the late 20th centuries from the collection of New York City’s American Folk Art Museum. The show will also feature a selection of American quilts from the Dayton Art Institute’s collection. 

“ … handcrafted objects can often be dismissed,” says Jerry Smith, head curator and director of curatorial affairs at the Dayton Art Institute. “This type of exhibition really helps celebrate quilts, works by women and the ideas that fine art and handcrafts are often one and the same.”

Quilts in the exhibition represent African American makers of the American south, Amish communities and other foundational artists who inspired generations of quilters to follow. It aims to highlight these works as monumental artworks that are intertwined in American life. 

The “Lozenge Quilt” dates to the 1930s and was potentially crafted in Tennessee, but the identity of its creator is not known. The quilt’s thick blue border contains neat rows of randomized red, blue, pink, brown and green shapes that stretch from one side to the other. 

Smith says quilt designs are often shaped by regional aspects. Leola Pettway’s “Star of Bethlehem with Satellite Stars Quilt” features a large, multicolored center star with one at each corner. Pettway, who lived in Alabama, created the quilt in 1991 and the design is particular to African American quilters in the south. 

“The quilts do vary,” Smith says, “mostly by geography and often familial designs.”

456 Belmonte Park N., Dayton 45405, 937/223-4278, daytonartinstitute.org

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