They are not the internationally known Gee’s Bend quilts from rural Alabama, hailed by critics as miraculous works of modern art. Nor are they the equally famous quilts from the “Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women” exhibit that recently ended at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
But, as with those quilts, the essence of fiber arts that have evolved from being just a cozy, handmade bed covering to artworks that tell a story, connect cultures and different generations is what makes “Sew-lano Quilts: A Pattern of Change” especially compelling to see and experience at the Vacaville Museum. The 40 to 50 pieces in the exhibit — curated by Caitlyn Moxon and continuing to Sept. 21 at the 213 Buck Ave.
venue, a center for Solano County history — gets its aesthetic charge from its inclusion of support and artifacts from several Solano County organizations, Clara Dawson, the newly named executive director, told The Reporter on Saturday morning. They range from individuals and the City of Dixon to a quilting group at the California Medical Facility and the Rio Vista Museum to the Museum of History Benicia. Just inside the one-room gallery, to the right as you enter, is something of a showstopper in itself: a poster-size black-and-white photo of a bemused Nancy Geary, a Black-American nurse born as a slave who eventually lived in Silveyville, near modern-day Dixon.
The artwork label that accompanies her delicate-looking, patchwork quilt indi.