Curator to deliver lecture on Texas Art Quilts

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Art will present the exhibition "Texas Art Quilts 1993-2011," showing Jan. 14 through March 30 in Ledbetter Gallery in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

"Texas Art Quilts" presents 26 works by Texas artists, completed between 1993 and 2011. Embracing abstraction and representation, these makers celebrate a variety of themes, including science, fantasy, political causes and natural beauty. Employing color and pattern in painterly fashion, the artists in this exhibition demonstrate that contemporary quilt art in the Lone Star state represents a vital aspect of visual culture, according to John Handley, director of art galleries at SFA.

"Quilt makers, both traditional and contemporary, have thrived in the state of Texas, encouraged by the annual Houston International Quilt Festival," Handley said. "The works in 'Texas Art Quilts' in the current touring exhibition were selected by Dr. Sandra Sider, critic and curator, from a much larger group of quilts premiering at Houston in 'Lone Stars III.'"

The exhibition is funded in part by grants from the Quilters Guild of Dallas - Helena Hibbs Endowment Fund and the Texas Commission on the Arts. The Nacogdoches Junior Forum and the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts also provided support.

Rather than hosting an opening reception, the School of Art will present the curator who will deliver a lecture at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at the art center, located at 329 E. Main St. in downtown Nacogdoches. All exhibitions and gallery lectures are free. For additional information about this exhibition and others presented by the SFA art galleries, visit www.art.sfasu.edu/ or call (936) 468-1131.