Circular Abstractions: Bull’s Eye Quilts, a touring exhibition that features some of the best machine-piecing and quilting being done today, will be on view at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art from December 15, 2018 through March 10, 2019. An opening reception will be held during Art on Tap, the Museum’s monthly happy hour, on Friday, December 14, 2018 from 5-7pm.

Organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and curated by Nancy Crow, a renowned fine art quilt maker herself, Circular Abstractions displays 41 quilts by 32 artists who were challenged to create works that interpreted the bull’s eye pattern, traditionally a four-quadrant design with a bull’s eye at the center of each quarter.

Artists responded to the invitation by deconstructing and reassembling the bull’s eye into new compositions, resulting in a strikingly complex body of images, with each piece conveying its own distinct voice. Many of the artists maintain the quadrants, while others have circles that break those boundaries.

“I was drawn to this exhibition when it was first offered by the Muskegon Museum of Art because I was fascinated with the variety and complexity that the artists achieved by using a simple bull’s eye pattern,” said Barbara Jones, chief curator of The Westmoreland. “Speaking through the fundamental tools of art making—pattern, color, design, composition, rhythm, value and movement—these pieces communicate a host of impressions and narratives.”

“We are very excited for our visitors to experience this exhibition featuring some of the best fine artists working in textiles and pushing the boundaries of quilt making,” said Anne Kraybill, the Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO of The Westmoreland.

Circular Abstractions: Bull’s Eye Quilts was organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art with Guest Curator, Nancy Crow.