Curated by Barbara Danzi
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Maps are an essential graphic tool which enable us to see where we are and where we are going. That sense of place is a critical part of belonging and feeling comfortable where we are.
I curated this collection of quilts made by SAQA Juried Artist Members using the criteria that the quilt has the essence of a map. About half of the artists expressly stated that their quilt is a map, and the other quilts appear to have a map sensibility to my viewing eyes.
Some of these quilts depict the whole world, and we feel tiny on that scale. Some depict a local river or a neighborhood, something familiar to those who live nearby. And some show just a tiny corner of the artist’s world, a fence or city block, and on that scale we know we are home.
Barbara Danzi is an artist who makes large-scale improvisational abstract quilts. Her approach of freehand cutting each line or shape individually while composing the design on her design wall and her complex use of color creates quilts with a painterly aesthetic where the seams look hand drawn. Barbara merges her engineering degree and design study with her outdoor adventures to create compelling designs based on organic shapes in the natural world.
Besides exhibiting her award-winning quilts around the world, Barbara lectures to quilt and fiber art groups and serves as a curator, juror and judge for exhibits. Barbara is a Juried Artist Member of SAQA, the Studio Art Quilt Associates, and a member of Textile Arts Los Angeles, and the Textile Study Group of New York.
