Welcome to SAQA’s Virtual Gallery! For our debut, we created No Limits to showcase the unbounded possibilities of the on-line format, while presenting the best in art quilts.
In addition to several excellent wall pieces in a flat rectangular format, we included work that is harder to handle in a brick-and-mortar venue. Work that is very large, very small, three-dimensional, fragile, or complicated to install meets that criteria, as does work created far from SAQA’s central shipping center.
We had lively discussions about the pieces we chose: some decisions were obvious to all of us at first glance, but others were intensely debated and challenged. Ultimately, we reached a consensus on a group of works that we hope will illustrate the new online exhibits and inspire our members to participate in future virtual gallery exhibits.
One of the realities of virtual exhibitions is that the images entered by artists are all that viewers will see, so professional image quality is essential. It broke our hearts to omit some powerful work based on the quality of the images.
The 24 pieces selected make a strong, diverse collection. What our members create is amazing, and the parameters are wide open: an art quilt is “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched structure.” Within that framework, we looked for artistic intent, successful realization of that intent, and skillful handling of the medium. Above all, we favored pieces that engaged us and lingered in our minds long after we looked at them. We hope you feel the same way.
Virtual Gallery Committee’s “No Limits” Team:
Susan Else, Sarah Entsminger, Sarah Ann Smith, Gul Laporte, Cynthia Levis, Elena Stokes
