Texas Quit Museum - New Exhibit Celebrates Butterflies and Rare Antiques

New exhibits at the Texas Quilt Museum celebrate butterflies and rare antiques.  And SewCalGal is delighted to share a Press Release with you today, to heighten awareness of an excellent opportunity to see a spectacular quilting exhibit:

*** Press Release ****

March 17, 2014—Insects taken to flights of fanciful art and gorgeous antique quilts from a storied collection will be showcased in the spring exhibits on display at the Texas Quilt Museum from April 3-June 29, 2014.

The exhibits are:

Butterflies and Their Beautiful Kin
Galleries I & III

Pictured: Beautiful Morning by Melanie Marr

Inspired by the mission and purpose of the National Butterfly Center, this juried exhibition (a first for the Museum) of contemporary quilts seeks to showcase the skill and creativity of talented textile artists across the country, while advancing a message of conservation. 

The 38 works also celebrate the completion of Grandmother’s Flower Garden, a beautiful meditative space adjacent to the Museum where butterflies can be seen.

“Butterflies symbolize rebirth and metamorphosis. This exhibit shows how modern artists are reworking quiltmaking, contributing new techniques, processes, and concepts to the historical continuum of quilts,” adds Dr. Sandra Sider, Museum Curator.

An Invitational Flutter of Butterfly Art Quilts
Gallery I

Pictured: Lepidopteran #3 by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry
Wings of the Lepidoptera continue to flutter in this invitational exhibit featuring 17 amazing butterfly quilts, carefully selected by our Museum Curator. 

“Butterflies symbolize metamorphosis, and the Texas Quilt Museum is transforming downtown La Grange into a favorite destination for quilt lovers from around the world,” notes Museum Curator Dr. Sandra Sider.

And with the warm weather of spring in the air, this exhibit is a beautiful complement to Butterflies and Their Beautiful Kin. 

Selected quilts from both butterfly exhibits will be on display at the National Butterfly Center in the exhibit “Butterfly Whirl: Contemporary Quilt Art,” with possible stops in other venues around the country.

Antique Quilts from the Gundersheimer Collection
Gallery II

Pictured: detail from a 19th Century Crazy Quilt from an unknown artist

This exhibit features eight incredible antique quilts in a wide variety of styles and genres from the personal collection of Karen and Werner Gundersheimer. The pair had a deep love for folk art, embroidery and quilts, and you can see it in selections like a vibrant Amish Shadow and Sunshine, a red and white alphabet quilt, a triple Irish Chain, and a 19th century Crazy quilt. 

Karen went on to write and/or illustrate more than 30 children’s books, and Werner became Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library. They collected quilts for decades, seeking them out at antique shops, shows, fairs, and flea markets.

The Texas Quilt Museum is located at 140 W. Colorado St., La Grange, Texas 78945. It opened in 2011 and is housed in two 19th-century buildings in the Historic District of La Grange. Its restoration has won both Preservation Texas and Main Street awards. The Museum complex also includes a period Texas garden with a monumental 13’ x 85’ outdoor mural, Quilts…History in the Making, as its focal point. Learn more at www.texasquiltmuseum.org

SewCalGal hopes that those living in or near La Grange, as well as those traveling to this area for a Spring Break, that you'll have a chance to visit these exhibits and enjoy time visiting the Texas Quilt Museum.  Wouldn't it be fun to visit every Quilt Museum in the world?  I wonder how many there are?  If you have a favorite Quilt Museum I hope you'll leave a comment to share such insights.