Off the Wall (SAQA Virtual Gallery)

Scroll down to view the image gallery. Click on any square image to launch the slideshow. Be sure to click See Details under each image to find out more about each piece, including additional images, videos, and statements.

Virtual Gallery Theme

Art quilters have taken the traditional form of a quilt and moved it to the wall. Artists were asked to explore pushing the form off the wall into three dimensions. Create art that can stand on its own, hang from the ceiling or has added dimension on the wall.

About the Curator

Andrea Finch creates sculptural quilts of botanical subjects, realistic to abstract, exploring textile textures. She lives and works in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, sits on the board & exhibitions committee of the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Gallery Coordinator at the Council for the Arts, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Her work can be found at www.afinchsongcreation.com, the Foundry Art Market in Chambersburg, various galleries, public and private collections, and exhibitions throughout the country.

Curator Statement

Off the wall could mean a lot of different things, from something that is bias relief, coming out from the flat surface, to sculptural forms, to crazy ideas. With the large amount of work SAQA received for this call, I could build the show I envisioned. I took the words ‘Off the Wall’ literally. I chose only pieces that were not wall mounted. Some hung from the ceiling, rose from the floor or seemed to hang in midair.

I first ran through the images to find the pieces that were truly off the wall. There were pieces I would have loved to include but they were wall mounted. I chose art that could be viewed in the round.

Some intriguing works were not chosen because the lighting of the art was poor, or the photo was out of focus. As a juror I only have the images submitted. If I can’t see it, I can’t be sure of what I am seeing. For virtual exhibitions it is so important to have pristine images.

I only chose one piece of art from each artist. It was hard to choose from some artists as each piece had its own merit. I could see the progression in the work. Working in series strengthens the work as the artist finds new ways to show their voice. I didn’t always choose the ‘pretty’ piece and the season may have influenced some of the choices.

There were many interesting pieces that need more work to be complete. The ideas were intriguing, but they left me wanting more. More stitching, more layers, more details, more of what the artist had in mind.

Selected Artists

Selected Artists:

Susan Avishai (Ontario, Canada) - Rapunzel, Rapunzel
Linda Fjeldsted Blust (California, USA) - Dark Angel
Holly Lei Cole (Virginia, USA) - Veteran African Elephant
Judith Content (California, USA) - Landart, San Mateo Coast, 3
Joan M Diamond (New Jersey, USA) - Before
Giny Dixon (California, USA) - Floating Storyline
Susan Else (California, USA) - Still Kicking
Maggy Rozycki Hiltner (Montana, USA) - Yoyo Chico Dazzleship
Laurel Izard (Indiana, USA) - House of Izwin
Cathy Jack Coupland (NSW, Australia) - La Ville
Katie Jones (Indiana, USA) - Camira
Patty Kennedy-Zafred (Pennsylvania, USA) - Seed to Harvest
Steph Kincade (Nova Scotia, Canada) - Can't Keep Me Down
Teresita Leal (Argentina) - Quasi-vegetable
Melinda E Lowy (Maryland, USA) - Indian Palace
Diane Nunez (Michigan, USA) - Strata
Claire Passmore (Mauritius) - Nocturnal Glow
Terri Shinn (Washinton, USA) - Methuselah
Carla Stehr (Washington, USA) - Pacific Oyster Fiber Sculpture
Marijke van Welzen (Netherlands) - A Pride of Peacocks

Related Information