The art quilt movement is young.  We're only about 25 years into the journey and that's why so many fiber artists who are making a name for themselves have come from the traditional methods for making quilts an art form.  Bruce Wilcox a member at CORE New Art Gallery is having his first show at the gallery since becoming a member this past year.  The show is a retrospective of his work and it's great to see an individual's journey come to life.

I find myself putting his work in the category of contemporary quilts instead of art quilts because of their structure, construction and composition.  It's intriguing to see someone's work and the come upon a piece where you ask yourself, "how did this get into the artist's consciousness?"  "Prism Point" is that piece for me.  Bruce's color palette is overall very dark with a lot of brown and black and "Prism Point" shows up looking like the colors of your Easter bonnet.

Bruce's work is meticulous.  His stitching work is outstanding.  He has mastered the art of hand stitching and it adds an interest to the work that a sewing machine couldn't compete with.  The stitchery draws you into the work and makes you ask yourself "how does he get the stitching so even?"  There are two pieces that I want to spotlight and they are similar in the fact that they are multiple pieces, one is made up of five panels and the other is a triptych.  "Fire Totems" and "Wise Guys" create a dance leading you around the work like a dance partner guiding your eyes around the dance floor.  "Fire Totems" is no surprise very warm in coloration and the adornment makes you think of a tribal king's inner circle.

I want to thank Bruce for sharing his journey with us.  What's your journey been like?  Have you had your own retrospective yet...even if it's been in your living room?  It's this type of show that marks the growth and vision of an artists work.

Glad to share the journey...
Greg