Thu January 15, 2015
“QUILTS IN JEST”
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Walnut Creek Public Library Community Art Gallery
(see times)
“QUILTS IN JEST”
A time-honored craft wittily transformed into social commentary by fiber artist, Phyllis Kluger
November 19, 2014 – January 15, 2015
Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 19, 6-8 PM
Hours: Mon-Thurs 10AM – 8 PM
Fri and Sat 10AM – 6PM
“QUILTS IN JEST”
A proposed new state flag for California – the shaggy bear is still there but now assigned a minor role – will be unfurled at the Walnut Creek Public Library’s Community Art Gallery in a show opening November 19 devoted to the fabric compositions of Phyllis Kluger, a Berkeley resident, who calls her collection “Quilts in Jest.”
Kluger’s “Eureka Flag,” featuring the state motto and a landscape of iconic images drawn from California’s history and culture, and a dozen other works on display at her solo Walnut Creek exhibition are a marked departure from traditional quilts by making large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein and rich in wordplay, on social and historical themes. Over the past year, Kluger’s fabric collages have been seen in juried shows nationwide. Her “Rise and Fall of the British Empire” was chosen “Best Art Quilt” in the Tubac (AZ) Center for the Arts’ show “Threads: A Contemporary Fiber Exhibition,” and in July her piece “Let’s Thai One On” took second prize in the American Quilters Society’s national show in Charlotte (NC). Closer to home, Kluger’s antiwar send-up, “Aggression Urn,” was selected last fall by juror Scott Shields, chief curator of the Crocker Art Museum, for inclusion in Gallery Route One’s show “Catalyst” in Pt. Reyes.
Of her whimsical candidate for a new official state ensign, Kluger quips that “I have nothing against that big old bruin who takes up most of the 'California Republic' flag, but I think the time is ripe for a fresh design that captures the spirit of the most populous, picturesque, and zaniest of our United States.” Among her other works to be shown in Walnut Creek are “Cereal Killer Strikes Again” dealing with urban mayhem; “George Washington, Warts and All,” showing the founding father’s previously unsuspected imperfections; “Red Squares“ on the collapse of the sterile Soviet police state; a marine-life homage to Rodin’s sculpture “The Kiss,” and a mid-space portrait of “Verdantissimus, Envoy from the Green Galaxy” on his way home after a dispiriting visit to planet Earth.
Kluger has been addicted to fiber art since her New Jersey childhood. She learned to knit at six and has never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, she sensed that many of the motifs she encountered in her studies would adapt beautifully as designs for needlepoint. The result was A Needle-point Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), the first of her two craft books, which Time magazine praised as “one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year.” She has also co-authored two novels with her husband, Richard Kluger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.
WALNUT CREEK PUBLIC LIBRARY’S COMMUNITY ART GALLERY
The City of Walnut Creek, in conjunction with the Walnut Creek Downtown Library presents annual exhibitions in the Library Community Art Gallery. The gallery was created to present artwork for the encouragement and development of artistic expression, and to foster greater appreciation for art in our community.
This program is part of the Arts, Recreation and Community Services Department, administered by Bedford Gallery http://www.bedfordgallery.org/ under the direction of the Walnut Creek Arts Commission.
The Walnut Creek Library opened on July 17, 2010. Over 8,500 people visited on the first day, over 15,000 in the first week! The Library Foundation donated more than $5.2 million towards the building of the new library and continues to raise funds for the library’s collections, programs and materials. Visit the Donate page to support the libraries.
The Friends of the Walnut Creek Library operate a bookstore in the new Walnut Creek Library that is open during library hours. Books can be donated at the book drop on the east side of the library. 1644 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596. 925-977-3340 http://bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/cag.shtml
PHYLLIS KLUGER, IN HER OWN VOICE
Q. How did you get into your offbeat genre?
A. My first love as a creative artist has always been working with threads in unorthodox ways. I have been addicted to fiber art since my suburban New Jersey childhood; I learned to knit at age six and have never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, I sensed that many of the motifs I first encountered in my studies would adapt beautifully as patterns for needlepoint. Gathering more than 100 patterns derived from great art-works of different cultures and ages, I produced my first book, A Needlepoint Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), which Time magazine praised as "one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year." Maurice Sendak, the peerless artist-illustrator-storyteller, re-marked that "[Kluger] takes contemporary needlepoint out of the hideously hokey-pokey, quaint patterns, little-old-lady doldrums…. Richly detailed, beautifully illustrated, and best of all, full of original and exciting ideas that allow for needlepoint a serious place among the creative crafts." The New York Times noted that each pattern "is accompanied by a literate discussion of the culture that produced the art in the first place. It's beautifully done." My second book, Victorian Designs for Needlepoint (Holt, Rinehart & Winston), was also well received and selected by three book clubs, including the Cooking and Crafts division of the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Q. But how did you get from excelling at needlepoint into quilts?
A. Frankly, I got bored with needlepoint. So after taking time away from the visual and tactile arts to co-author a pair of novels with my husband, dealing with aesthetic subjects and social mores (Good Goods, Macmillan, and Royal Poinciana, Donald I. Fine), I set to work in what has become my principal field of concentration: fashioning a new departure for the venerable craft of quilting in the form of compositions that make large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein, on social and historical themes. My first quilted piece, combining needlepoint, quilting, and soft sculpture, was titled "Nude Descending a Staircase II," a whimsical tribute to Duchamp's classic cubist painting, and was sold within days of its being offered at the Spring Street Gallery in New York's Soho. Encouraged, I grew more ambitious in the range of my subject matter and the scale of my compositions. My body of work deals with, among other subjects, egomaniacal yuppies, love-struck marine life, George Washington's previously undisclosed imperfections, urban mayhem (see "Cereal Killer Strikes Again"), the history of the British Empire from King Arthur to Margaret Thatcher), feminism (see "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"), an antiwar antique called "Aggression Urn," the collapse of the sterile Soviet order (see "Red Squares"), and homage to American architecture in various aspects (historical, decorative, and, well, crumbling). My large (6X6-foot) abstract composition, "The Princeton-Yale Game Increases in Intensity," is on permanent display at Princeton University's Frist Campus Center.
Q. Who have been your mentors and how did you learn your technique?
A. A self-taught quilter, I knew what I was trying to do was flying in the face of traditional and even modern quilters’ techniques. I strive to blend history, humor, social commentary, wordplay, and close attention to decorative detail. My work, I feel, resists the artificial barrier between Art and Craft that some connoisseurs insist on. Although I pride myself on my workmanship, my quilts are intended to be not simply decorative wall hangings but socially interpretive and, frankly, entertaining works of art. I hope you like them.
show less
A time-honored craft wittily transformed into social commentary by fiber artist, Phyllis Kluger
November 19, 2014 – January 15, 2015
Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 19, 6-8 PM
Hours: Mon-Thurs 10AM – 8 PM
Fri and Sat 10AM – 6PM
“QUILTS IN JEST”
A proposed new state flag for California – the shaggy bear is still there but now assigned a minor role – will be unfurled at the Walnut Creek Public Library’s Community Art Gallery in a show opening November 19 devoted to the fabric compositions of Phyllis Kluger, a Berkeley resident, who calls her collection “Quilts in Jest.”
Kluger’s “Eureka Flag,” featuring the state motto and a landscape of iconic images drawn from California’s history and culture, and a dozen other works on display at her solo Walnut Creek exhibition are a marked departure from traditional quilts by making large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein and rich in wordplay, on social and historical themes. Over the past year, Kluger’s fabric collages have been seen in juried shows nationwide. Her “Rise and Fall of the British Empire” was chosen “Best Art Quilt” in the Tubac (AZ) Center for the Arts’ show “Threads: A Contemporary Fiber Exhibition,” and in July her piece “Let’s Thai One On” took second prize in the American Quilters Society’s national show in Charlotte (NC). Closer to home, Kluger’s antiwar send-up, “Aggression Urn,” was selected last fall by juror Scott Shields, chief curator of the Crocker Art Museum, for inclusion in Gallery Route One’s show “Catalyst” in Pt. Reyes.
Of her whimsical candidate for a new official state ensign, Kluger quips that “I have nothing against that big old bruin who takes up most of the 'California Republic' flag, but I think the time is ripe for a fresh design that captures the spirit of the most populous, picturesque, and zaniest of our United States.” Among her other works to be shown in Walnut Creek are “Cereal Killer Strikes Again” dealing with urban mayhem; “George Washington, Warts and All,” showing the founding father’s previously unsuspected imperfections; “Red Squares“ on the collapse of the sterile Soviet police state; a marine-life homage to Rodin’s sculpture “The Kiss,” and a mid-space portrait of “Verdantissimus, Envoy from the Green Galaxy” on his way home after a dispiriting visit to planet Earth.
Kluger has been addicted to fiber art since her New Jersey childhood. She learned to knit at six and has never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, she sensed that many of the motifs she encountered in her studies would adapt beautifully as designs for needlepoint. The result was A Needle-point Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), the first of her two craft books, which Time magazine praised as “one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year.” She has also co-authored two novels with her husband, Richard Kluger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.
WALNUT CREEK PUBLIC LIBRARY’S COMMUNITY ART GALLERY
The City of Walnut Creek, in conjunction with the Walnut Creek Downtown Library presents annual exhibitions in the Library Community Art Gallery. The gallery was created to present artwork for the encouragement and development of artistic expression, and to foster greater appreciation for art in our community.
This program is part of the Arts, Recreation and Community Services Department, administered by Bedford Gallery http://www.bedfordgallery.org/ under the direction of the Walnut Creek Arts Commission.
The Walnut Creek Library opened on July 17, 2010. Over 8,500 people visited on the first day, over 15,000 in the first week! The Library Foundation donated more than $5.2 million towards the building of the new library and continues to raise funds for the library’s collections, programs and materials. Visit the Donate page to support the libraries.
The Friends of the Walnut Creek Library operate a bookstore in the new Walnut Creek Library that is open during library hours. Books can be donated at the book drop on the east side of the library. 1644 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596. 925-977-3340 http://bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/cag.shtml
PHYLLIS KLUGER, IN HER OWN VOICE
Q. How did you get into your offbeat genre?
A. My first love as a creative artist has always been working with threads in unorthodox ways. I have been addicted to fiber art since my suburban New Jersey childhood; I learned to knit at age six and have never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, I sensed that many of the motifs I first encountered in my studies would adapt beautifully as patterns for needlepoint. Gathering more than 100 patterns derived from great art-works of different cultures and ages, I produced my first book, A Needlepoint Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), which Time magazine praised as "one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year." Maurice Sendak, the peerless artist-illustrator-storyteller, re-marked that "[Kluger] takes contemporary needlepoint out of the hideously hokey-pokey, quaint patterns, little-old-lady doldrums…. Richly detailed, beautifully illustrated, and best of all, full of original and exciting ideas that allow for needlepoint a serious place among the creative crafts." The New York Times noted that each pattern "is accompanied by a literate discussion of the culture that produced the art in the first place. It's beautifully done." My second book, Victorian Designs for Needlepoint (Holt, Rinehart & Winston), was also well received and selected by three book clubs, including the Cooking and Crafts division of the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Q. But how did you get from excelling at needlepoint into quilts?
A. Frankly, I got bored with needlepoint. So after taking time away from the visual and tactile arts to co-author a pair of novels with my husband, dealing with aesthetic subjects and social mores (Good Goods, Macmillan, and Royal Poinciana, Donald I. Fine), I set to work in what has become my principal field of concentration: fashioning a new departure for the venerable craft of quilting in the form of compositions that make large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein, on social and historical themes. My first quilted piece, combining needlepoint, quilting, and soft sculpture, was titled "Nude Descending a Staircase II," a whimsical tribute to Duchamp's classic cubist painting, and was sold within days of its being offered at the Spring Street Gallery in New York's Soho. Encouraged, I grew more ambitious in the range of my subject matter and the scale of my compositions. My body of work deals with, among other subjects, egomaniacal yuppies, love-struck marine life, George Washington's previously undisclosed imperfections, urban mayhem (see "Cereal Killer Strikes Again"), the history of the British Empire from King Arthur to Margaret Thatcher), feminism (see "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"), an antiwar antique called "Aggression Urn," the collapse of the sterile Soviet order (see "Red Squares"), and homage to American architecture in various aspects (historical, decorative, and, well, crumbling). My large (6X6-foot) abstract composition, "The Princeton-Yale Game Increases in Intensity," is on permanent display at Princeton University's Frist Campus Center.
Q. Who have been your mentors and how did you learn your technique?
A. A self-taught quilter, I knew what I was trying to do was flying in the face of traditional and even modern quilters’ techniques. I strive to blend history, humor, social commentary, wordplay, and close attention to decorative detail. My work, I feel, resists the artificial barrier between Art and Craft that some connoisseurs insist on. Although I pride myself on my workmanship, my quilts are intended to be not simply decorative wall hangings but socially interpretive and, frankly, entertaining works of art. I hope you like them.
“QUILTS IN JEST”
A time-honored craft wittily transformed into social commentary by fiber artist, Phyllis Kluger
November 19, 2014 – January 15, 2015
Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 19, 6-8 PM
Hours: Mon-Thurs 10AM – 8 PM
Fri and Sat 10AM – 6PM
“QUILTS IN JEST”
A proposed new state flag for California – the shaggy bear is still there but now assigned a minor role – will be unfurled at the Walnut Creek Public Library’s Community Art Gallery in a show opening November 19 devoted to the fabric compositions of Phyllis Kluger, a Berkeley resident, who calls her collection “Quilts in Jest.”
Kluger’s “Eureka Flag,” featuring the state motto and a landscape of iconic images drawn from California’s history and culture, and a dozen other works on display at her solo Walnut Creek exhibition are a marked departure from traditional quilts by making large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein and rich in wordplay, on social and historical themes. Over the past year, Kluger’s fabric collages have been seen in juried shows nationwide. Her “Rise and Fall of the British Empire” was chosen “Best Art Quilt” in the Tubac (AZ) Center for the Arts’ show “Threads: A Contemporary Fiber Exhibition,” and in July her piece “Let’s Thai One On” took second prize in the American Quilters Society’s national show in Charlotte (NC). Closer to home, Kluger’s antiwar send-up, “Aggression Urn,” was selected last fall by juror Scott Shields, chief curator of the Crocker Art Museum, for inclusion in Gallery Route One’s show “Catalyst” in Pt. Reyes.
Of her whimsical candidate for a new official state ensign, Kluger quips that “I have nothing against that big old bruin who takes up most of the 'California Republic' flag, but I think the time is ripe for a fresh design that captures the spirit of the most populous, picturesque, and zaniest of our United States.” Among her other works to be shown in Walnut Creek are “Cereal Killer Strikes Again” dealing with urban mayhem; “George Washington, Warts and All,” showing the founding father’s previously unsuspected imperfections; “Red Squares“ on the collapse of the sterile Soviet police state; a marine-life homage to Rodin’s sculpture “The Kiss,” and a mid-space portrait of “Verdantissimus, Envoy from the Green Galaxy” on his way home after a dispiriting visit to planet Earth.
Kluger has been addicted to fiber art since her New Jersey childhood. She learned to knit at six and has never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, she sensed that many of the motifs she encountered in her studies would adapt beautifully as designs for needlepoint. The result was A Needle-point Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), the first of her two craft books, which Time magazine praised as “one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year.” She has also co-authored two novels with her husband, Richard Kluger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.
WALNUT CREEK PUBLIC LIBRARY’S COMMUNITY ART GALLERY
The City of Walnut Creek, in conjunction with the Walnut Creek Downtown Library presents annual exhibitions in the Library Community Art Gallery. The gallery was created to present artwork for the encouragement and development of artistic expression, and to foster greater appreciation for art in our community.
This program is part of the Arts, Recreation and Community Services Department, administered by Bedford Gallery http://www.bedfordgallery.org/ under the direction of the Walnut Creek Arts Commission.
The Walnut Creek Library opened on July 17, 2010. Over 8,500 people visited on the first day, over 15,000 in the first week! The Library Foundation donated more than $5.2 million towards the building of the new library and continues to raise funds for the library’s collections, programs and materials. Visit the Donate page to support the libraries.
The Friends of the Walnut Creek Library operate a bookstore in the new Walnut Creek Library that is open during library hours. Books can be donated at the book drop on the east side of the library. 1644 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596. 925-977-3340 http://bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/cag.shtml
PHYLLIS KLUGER, IN HER OWN VOICE
Q. How did you get into your offbeat genre?
A. My first love as a creative artist has always been working with threads in unorthodox ways. I have been addicted to fiber art since my suburban New Jersey childhood; I learned to knit at age six and have never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, I sensed that many of the motifs I first encountered in my studies would adapt beautifully as patterns for needlepoint. Gathering more than 100 patterns derived from great art-works of different cultures and ages, I produced my first book, A Needlepoint Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), which Time magazine praised as "one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year." Maurice Sendak, the peerless artist-illustrator-storyteller, re-marked that "[Kluger] takes contemporary needlepoint out of the hideously hokey-pokey, quaint patterns, little-old-lady doldrums…. Richly detailed, beautifully illustrated, and best of all, full of original and exciting ideas that allow for needlepoint a serious place among the creative crafts." The New York Times noted that each pattern "is accompanied by a literate discussion of the culture that produced the art in the first place. It's beautifully done." My second book, Victorian Designs for Needlepoint (Holt, Rinehart & Winston), was also well received and selected by three book clubs, including the Cooking and Crafts division of the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Q. But how did you get from excelling at needlepoint into quilts?
A. Frankly, I got bored with needlepoint. So after taking time away from the visual and tactile arts to co-author a pair of novels with my husband, dealing with aesthetic subjects and social mores (Good Goods, Macmillan, and Royal Poinciana, Donald I. Fine), I set to work in what has become my principal field of concentration: fashioning a new departure for the venerable craft of quilting in the form of compositions that make large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein, on social and historical themes. My first quilted piece, combining needlepoint, quilting, and soft sculpture, was titled "Nude Descending a Staircase II," a whimsical tribute to Duchamp's classic cubist painting, and was sold within days of its being offered at the Spring Street Gallery in New York's Soho. Encouraged, I grew more ambitious in the range of my subject matter and the scale of my compositions. My body of work deals with, among other subjects, egomaniacal yuppies, love-struck marine life, George Washington's previously undisclosed imperfections, urban mayhem (see "Cereal Killer Strikes Again"), the history of the British Empire from King Arthur to Margaret Thatcher), feminism (see "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"), an antiwar antique called "Aggression Urn," the collapse of the sterile Soviet order (see "Red Squares"), and homage to American architecture in various aspects (historical, decorative, and, well, crumbling). My large (6X6-foot) abstract composition, "The Princeton-Yale Game Increases in Intensity," is on permanent display at Princeton University's Frist Campus Center.
Q. Who have been your mentors and how did you learn your technique?
A. A self-taught quilter, I knew what I was trying to do was flying in the face of traditional and even modern quilters’ techniques. I strive to blend history, humor, social commentary, wordplay, and close attention to decorative detail. My work, I feel, resists the artificial barrier between Art and Craft that some connoisseurs insist on. Although I pride myself on my workmanship, my quilts are intended to be not simply decorative wall hangings but socially interpretive and, frankly, entertaining works of art. I hope you like them.
read more
A time-honored craft wittily transformed into social commentary by fiber artist, Phyllis Kluger
November 19, 2014 – January 15, 2015
Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 19, 6-8 PM
Hours: Mon-Thurs 10AM – 8 PM
Fri and Sat 10AM – 6PM
“QUILTS IN JEST”
A proposed new state flag for California – the shaggy bear is still there but now assigned a minor role – will be unfurled at the Walnut Creek Public Library’s Community Art Gallery in a show opening November 19 devoted to the fabric compositions of Phyllis Kluger, a Berkeley resident, who calls her collection “Quilts in Jest.”
Kluger’s “Eureka Flag,” featuring the state motto and a landscape of iconic images drawn from California’s history and culture, and a dozen other works on display at her solo Walnut Creek exhibition are a marked departure from traditional quilts by making large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein and rich in wordplay, on social and historical themes. Over the past year, Kluger’s fabric collages have been seen in juried shows nationwide. Her “Rise and Fall of the British Empire” was chosen “Best Art Quilt” in the Tubac (AZ) Center for the Arts’ show “Threads: A Contemporary Fiber Exhibition,” and in July her piece “Let’s Thai One On” took second prize in the American Quilters Society’s national show in Charlotte (NC). Closer to home, Kluger’s antiwar send-up, “Aggression Urn,” was selected last fall by juror Scott Shields, chief curator of the Crocker Art Museum, for inclusion in Gallery Route One’s show “Catalyst” in Pt. Reyes.
Of her whimsical candidate for a new official state ensign, Kluger quips that “I have nothing against that big old bruin who takes up most of the 'California Republic' flag, but I think the time is ripe for a fresh design that captures the spirit of the most populous, picturesque, and zaniest of our United States.” Among her other works to be shown in Walnut Creek are “Cereal Killer Strikes Again” dealing with urban mayhem; “George Washington, Warts and All,” showing the founding father’s previously unsuspected imperfections; “Red Squares“ on the collapse of the sterile Soviet police state; a marine-life homage to Rodin’s sculpture “The Kiss,” and a mid-space portrait of “Verdantissimus, Envoy from the Green Galaxy” on his way home after a dispiriting visit to planet Earth.
Kluger has been addicted to fiber art since her New Jersey childhood. She learned to knit at six and has never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, she sensed that many of the motifs she encountered in her studies would adapt beautifully as designs for needlepoint. The result was A Needle-point Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), the first of her two craft books, which Time magazine praised as “one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year.” She has also co-authored two novels with her husband, Richard Kluger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.
WALNUT CREEK PUBLIC LIBRARY’S COMMUNITY ART GALLERY
The City of Walnut Creek, in conjunction with the Walnut Creek Downtown Library presents annual exhibitions in the Library Community Art Gallery. The gallery was created to present artwork for the encouragement and development of artistic expression, and to foster greater appreciation for art in our community.
This program is part of the Arts, Recreation and Community Services Department, administered by Bedford Gallery http://www.bedfordgallery.org/ under the direction of the Walnut Creek Arts Commission.
The Walnut Creek Library opened on July 17, 2010. Over 8,500 people visited on the first day, over 15,000 in the first week! The Library Foundation donated more than $5.2 million towards the building of the new library and continues to raise funds for the library’s collections, programs and materials. Visit the Donate page to support the libraries.
The Friends of the Walnut Creek Library operate a bookstore in the new Walnut Creek Library that is open during library hours. Books can be donated at the book drop on the east side of the library. 1644 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596. 925-977-3340 http://bedfordgallery.org/exhibitions/cag.shtml
PHYLLIS KLUGER, IN HER OWN VOICE
Q. How did you get into your offbeat genre?
A. My first love as a creative artist has always been working with threads in unorthodox ways. I have been addicted to fiber art since my suburban New Jersey childhood; I learned to knit at age six and have never stopped. An art history major at Douglass College and Columbia University, I sensed that many of the motifs I first encountered in my studies would adapt beautifully as patterns for needlepoint. Gathering more than 100 patterns derived from great art-works of different cultures and ages, I produced my first book, A Needlepoint Gallery of Patterns from the Past (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.), which Time magazine praised as "one of the best needlepoint books of this or any other year." Maurice Sendak, the peerless artist-illustrator-storyteller, re-marked that "[Kluger] takes contemporary needlepoint out of the hideously hokey-pokey, quaint patterns, little-old-lady doldrums…. Richly detailed, beautifully illustrated, and best of all, full of original and exciting ideas that allow for needlepoint a serious place among the creative crafts." The New York Times noted that each pattern "is accompanied by a literate discussion of the culture that produced the art in the first place. It's beautifully done." My second book, Victorian Designs for Needlepoint (Holt, Rinehart & Winston), was also well received and selected by three book clubs, including the Cooking and Crafts division of the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Q. But how did you get from excelling at needlepoint into quilts?
A. Frankly, I got bored with needlepoint. So after taking time away from the visual and tactile arts to co-author a pair of novels with my husband, dealing with aesthetic subjects and social mores (Good Goods, Macmillan, and Royal Poinciana, Donald I. Fine), I set to work in what has become my principal field of concentration: fashioning a new departure for the venerable craft of quilting in the form of compositions that make large, colorful statements, mostly in a satiric vein, on social and historical themes. My first quilted piece, combining needlepoint, quilting, and soft sculpture, was titled "Nude Descending a Staircase II," a whimsical tribute to Duchamp's classic cubist painting, and was sold within days of its being offered at the Spring Street Gallery in New York's Soho. Encouraged, I grew more ambitious in the range of my subject matter and the scale of my compositions. My body of work deals with, among other subjects, egomaniacal yuppies, love-struck marine life, George Washington's previously undisclosed imperfections, urban mayhem (see "Cereal Killer Strikes Again"), the history of the British Empire from King Arthur to Margaret Thatcher), feminism (see "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"), an antiwar antique called "Aggression Urn," the collapse of the sterile Soviet order (see "Red Squares"), and homage to American architecture in various aspects (historical, decorative, and, well, crumbling). My large (6X6-foot) abstract composition, "The Princeton-Yale Game Increases in Intensity," is on permanent display at Princeton University's Frist Campus Center.
Q. Who have been your mentors and how did you learn your technique?
A. A self-taught quilter, I knew what I was trying to do was flying in the face of traditional and even modern quilters’ techniques. I strive to blend history, humor, social commentary, wordplay, and close attention to decorative detail. My work, I feel, resists the artificial barrier between Art and Craft that some connoisseurs insist on. Although I pride myself on my workmanship, my quilts are intended to be not simply decorative wall hangings but socially interpretive and, frankly, entertaining works of art. I hope you like them.
show less
Date/Times:
Walnut Creek Public Library Community Art Gallery
1644 N. Broadway, East Bay, CA 94596
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