Minimalism opens in France

Help Me To Balance by Judith E Martin
90 x 66 inches, 2018
repurposed flannel blankets and cotton hand towels
hand mended, machine pieced, hand quilted. 

Judy Martin's Flannel quilt is included in SAQA's global exhibition, Minimalism.   This exhibition was curated by famed Canadian artist, Dorothy Caldwell and includes works from 43 artists.

The Minimalism exhibition premiers at the famous Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork, one of the world's top textile art events.  An annual event in Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines, Alsace, France, the dates for 2023 are September 14 - 17.  Click here for more information about the European Patchwork Meeting .

And click here for more information about the Minimalism exhibition including thumbnails of each of the 43 quilts and a biography of Dorothy Caldwell.  

A patchwork of used and mended cotton sheets and towels is hand stitched with a red thread grid.  The middle layer of this quilt is a recycled flannel sheet.  The softness and weight of so much cloth that has been touched repeatedly over time creates an incredibly intimate support blanket.    Judy Martin

There is a beautiful catalogue available for $25 from SAQA with artists statements for each quilt and also Dorothy's juror's statement.  Dorothy speaks about the Whitney Museum exhibition from 1971 that was curated by Jonathan Holstein and how she attended that show and realized immediately that the quilts (traditional and Amish) were minimalistic art. 

"The Whitney exhibition was the first major textile-art exhibiton in a mainstream art museum.  This was a turning point, as I moved on from painting to textiles.  The Minimalist tradition inspired making art where the material carries the message."  Dorothy Caldwell.