search articles:     from the issue of February 24, 2005         Amish quilts at new exhibition draw comparisons to modern art Three outstanding groups of Amish quilts from the collections of the International Quilt Study Center are featured in the upcoming exhibition The Collector's Eye: Amish Quilts from the International Quilt Study Center Collections at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. The quilts represent the finest collection of Amish quilts known. The graphic qualities of these quilts is striking. Amish quilts often evoke comparisons to modern art because of the similarities between their large single color areas and the "color field" paintings of such Abstract Expressionist artists as Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Jules Olitski and others. The unique large forms and the colors of Lancaster Amish quilts, rich, saturated and emotionally powerful, and the unusual and moving ways in which the makers combined them, often highlighting and enlivening somber color compositions with a touch of brilliant color, is reminiscent of the visual devices of some modern painting, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists, who were interested in conveying complex meanings and emotions through manipulations of color and form alone. The art world first took note of the remarkable similarities between quilts and modern art in 1971 when an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Abstract Design in American Quilts, exhibited 62 pieced quilts on walls normally reserved for the works of contemporary artists. Jonathan Holstein, curator of the exhibition, described intriguing resemblances between the total visual effects of some pieced quilts and some examples of modern painting. The Collector's Eye includes classic Lancaster Amish quilts and unusual Mifflin County Amish quilts from Pennsylvania, as well as quilts from Amish communities in Ohio and other Midwestern states. The quilts are drawn from the Ardis and Robert James Collection, the Henry and Jill Barber Collection and the Jonathan Holstein Collection. The exhibition is a collaborative effort of the International Quilt Study Center and Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. It was organized by Carolyn Ducey, IQSC curator, in collaboration with guest curators Jonathan Holstein and Michael James. The Collector's Eye will be on display until Aug. 7. The gallery will be closed the week of May 9 for installation of the second rotation of Amish quilts to be featured. Support for this exhibition comes from the Nebraska Arts Council and the Textiles, Clothing and Design Department in the College of Education and Human Sciences. GO TO: ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 24 ARTS HEADLINES FOR FEBRUARY 24 Theatrix staging The Baby Dance Amish quilts at new exhibition draw comparisons to modern art Girls' HS Basketball Tourney Airs on NETV Hillestad, Weiss exhibiting at Uni Place Gallery Statewide examines children's obesity UNL Symphonic Band Performances 732001S34332X