TCD Loose Threads Archive - September 2008

• Visual Systems: The Quilter's Eye ends with Hornung lecture
• Celebration Threads Ends SRO

Peggy Derrick, Quilt Studies M.A. candidate, and visiting artist David Hornung

On Wednesday, September 24, painter and one-time quilt artist David Hornung, chair of the Dept. of Art & Art History at Adelphi, University in Garden City, Long Island, NY and author of "Color: A Workshop Approach" (McGraw Hill), spoke on "American Quilts and the Grammar of Two-Dimensional Design" as the closing event for the exhibition, which hung in the Eistentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall since early July. Encompassing both traditional and non-traditional quilts, the show was the final thesis project of Master of Arts candidate Peggy Derrick, who served as its curator.

Hornung, who made some twenty quilts between 1980 and 1985, including "Orange Construction", which was included in the exhibition, has long advocated for the legitimacy of quilts as art forms, and has used quilts extensively in his teaching, as examples of inventive and dynamic design solutions. In his talk he showed examples of both quilts and of student work that referenced quilts or that developed out of constructive processes that mimicked the building of pieced quilts.

Installation view of "Visual Systems: The Quilter's Eye" in Richards Hall's Eisentrager-Howard Gallery, Department of Art & Art History, presentation of which was funded in part by a grant from the Nebraska Arts Council.

The exhibition in the Eistentrager-Howard gallery demonstrated that imagination and and inspiration have been part and parcel of the quiltmaker's art for several centuries, and that the vocabulary of two-dimensional design has served as a springboard for surprisingly individual and original expression in the quilt surface.

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Celebration Threads Ends SRO

One of the highlights of the exhibition year in the TCD gallery was the recent show of work by its namesake, Dr. Robert Hillestad. One of the longest running shows in the gallery, it was also one of the most visited. Legions of university faculty, staff and alums made the trip to East Campus to enjoy the spectacular color, wit and panache of Rob Hillestad's creations. The exhibition culminated in a gala reception that marked the publication of the monograph on Rob's work published by the Friends of the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, and appropriately titled Robert Hillestad: A Textiles Journey. The book provides an overview of Rob's career, with accompanying essays that provide insights into the technical and aesthetic merits of the work. The catalogue is available through the Friends of the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery or from Professor Wendy Weiss, Director of the gallery.

It was standing room only with over 300 guests on hand for the August 24 gala at which both Dr. Hillestad and textiles scholar JoAnn Stabb spoke. Volunteers modeled a collection of Rob's garments and a boutique created for the occasion by the Friends helped to raise funds to support the activities of the gallery. The festive and joyful coming together of gallery friends and supporters was a fitting testimonial to Rob Hillestad's impact on the greater TCD, CEHS, University and Nebraska communities through his work as both educator and artist.

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