The New Quilt

Following the relaunch of The New Quilt in 2021, QuiltNSW is excited to announce that The New Quilt is returning to Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW from 3 May to 23 June 2024. Further information will be available in 2023.

Background

The New Quilt is a juried survey exhibition showcasing the art of quilting that reflects the richness and diversity of contemporary expressions of the quilt medium in Australia.

The call for entries in 2021 encouraged entrants to: submit their best work reflecting their creative practice; “Think big, think bold – be adventurous!”; and to explore different ways of presenting their work. In 2021, a panel, comprised of artists Judy Hooworth and Anna Brown and Hawkesbury Regional Gallery curator Elissa Blair, selected 40 works from over 100 entries.

The final selection is an opportunity to experience an amazing array of creativity and innovation from across quilting Australia. Visitors may find themselves redefining their perception of a quilt, beyond layering of materials, to that of an artwork full of aesthetic impact, technical skill and powerful storytelling. This fascinating exhibition includes two-dimensional and three-dimensional sculptural works in a range of materials and styles, responding to many of the challenges we have faced in 2020 including bushfires and Covid- 19, as well as environmental challenges, new life, revenge and sheer joy!

Resources

Meet the artist videos are on the QuiltNS YouTube channel
Preview and buy The New Quilt Catalogue.
The New Quilt Family Guide
Search and Find Activity Sheet

Online Gallery

Circular Permutation by Amie Andrews and Marilyn Andrews

CIRCULAR PERMUTATION
© 2020
Amie Andrews & Marilyn Andrews
124 x 124 x 1cm (double-sided)

Price: NFS

Statement: Circular Permutation is the total number of ways in which a distinct object can be arranged around a fixed circle. Inspired by Casein buttons from the 1990s, it represents a collaboration between mother and daughter and a shared love for the art of quilting.

Materials: Japanese piece-dyed Azumino-Momen (cotton), cotton wadding, cotton thread.

Techniques: Machine pieced, machine quilted and hand appliquéd.

IN THE FOLD
© 2020 Amie Andrews
90 x 53 x 12cm

Price: NFS

Statement: In the Fold was made entirely by hand; 2,340 individual pieces of fabric have been folded, woven & sewn together. Inspired by a paper chain made two decades ago, it represents a love for weaving & quilting and the dance one's hands do in the process

Materials: Japanese yarn-dyed lawn, cotton, cotton thread and Perspex®

Techniques: Hand folded, woven and sewn.

NO WARMTH NINE PATCH
©2020 Sheila Beer
190 x 190cm

Price: NFS

Statement: One of many problems if you are homeless is finding comfort or warmth. For many years, paper and cardboard were the mainstay. But that has shifted to plastic in more recent history. Neither product however can be the substitute for a home

Materials: Newspaper, plastic film, plastic bags, thread

Techniques: Layering, heat treating plastics, machine quilting

Photograpy: Adrian Beer

POD
©2020 Jenny Bowker AO
221 x 156 cm

Price: A$4250

Statement: Jennifer has a box of seed pods collected from many Australian locations. For many years this quilt was planned with botanical drawings of pods from her collection, and a clearly pregnant woman, also a pod, viewing the work.

Materials: D'Uva Lithocoal (heat fixed), pencil, cotton canvas, cotton cloth, raw applique, Shellac in methylated spirits.

Techniques: Hand drawn charcoal drawings on cloth, pencil drawings fixed with shellace in methylated spirits, artist's canvas and free motion quilting.

Photography: Andrew Sikorski

CANOPY 18 Burning
© 2020 Anna Brown
278 x 99 cm

JUROR INVITATIONAL WORK

Price: NFS

Statement: New Year's Eve 2019!
The terror of the night.

Materials: Commercially dyed cotton.

Techniques: Machine stitched raw edge reverse appliqué and appliqué. Machine pieced and hand quilted.

SUMMER INFERNO #5:
© 2020 Sandra Champion
98 x 153 cm

Price: A$1500

Statement: The bushfires in Australia last summer were catastrophic. Landscape left blackened and lifeless. Piles of melted corrugated roofing and rubble remain where homes once stood. Garden paths lead nowhere. Everywhere there is devastation.

Materials: Vintage kimono silks, vintage papers, corrugated cardboard, scrim, tea bags, perle cotton, pattern tissue, silk.

Techniques: Rusted, painted, oiled, collaged, patched. Hand and machine stitched and fused to a silk foundation.

Photographer: Bruce Champion

SUMMER INFERNON #8:
©2020 Sandra Champion
102 x 177 cm

Price: A$1500

Statement: A huge wave of orange came down the mountain. The cataclysmic bush fire in the World Heritage forests left blackened trees and millions of dead animals. It is impossible to comprehend.

Materials: Vintage kimono silks, vintage papers, corrugated cardboard, perle cotton, repurposed dressmakers pattern tissue, silk.

Techniques: Rusted, painted, oiled, collaged, patched. Hand and machine stitched and fused to a silk foundation. Machine quilted.

Photographer: Bruce Champion

2020: URBAN GRAFFITI
©2020 Alison Charlton
117 x 144 cm

Price: $NFS

Statement: What a year! 2020: urban graffiti is the artist's observation of social sacrifices made in order to stem the spread of the pandemic. The work, presented as a graffitied wall, records activities taken for granted until we had to forgo them.

Materials: 100% cotton fabric, fibre reactive dyes, polyester and cotton threads, 80:20 poly cotton batting

Techniques: Breakdown and screen printed, machine quilted.

TUCK ME IN
©2020 Sophie Conolly
213 x 145 x 65 cm

Price: A$2000

Statement: At 11 I went to boarding school. After my English father died, boarding became especially lonely. I felt abandoned & rejected by my French mother. My catharsis was creating this quilt from my mother's prized collection of precious 'papiers d'agrumes' (Fruit paper wrappings).

Materials: Vintage (50s-60s) French printed tissue paper, vintage duvet cover, thread, wadding, tea bag paper, 12v LED light, MDF

Techniques: Hand sewn basic stitching and quilting (running stitch, back stitch). Replica soft toy 'Seal': papier maché using old tea bags.

Lockdown Sunset
© 2020 Grace di Muzio
101x44cm

Price: NFS

Statement: The repetitive golden globes of the sun reflect the days rolling into each other during Stage 4 lockdown in Victoria. Their beauty magnified due to isolation.

Materials: Reclaimed cotton fabrics, hand dyed and printed as well as new cotton fabrics.

Techniques: Collage appliqué.

CHANGE
© 2020 Dianne Firth
134 x 205cm

Price: NFS

Statement: Australians love their distinctive eucalypt forests and scrublands and have chosen to live within these fire-prone environments. This work considers the dramatic visual change following a quick burn to remove excess biomass.

Materials: commercial cottons, polyester net, batting and thread

Techniques: Assemblage and machine stitching.

Photographer: Andrew Sikorski

SHEER JOY
© 2020 Rachaeldaisy Dodd
180 x 214 cm

Price: A$890

Statement: Sheer Joy celebrates the joy of creating: the act of diving into imagination, playing with colour, texture, form, and asymmetrical balance. In return, it invites the viewer's imagination to play — are they flowers, underwater creatures, balloons, or...?

Materials: Tulle netting, Perle 8 cotton thread.

Techniques: Two layers of almost transparent tulle quilted and appliquéd with Yo-Yo/Suffolk puffs.

KEEPING TALLY
©2020 Lorinda Freeman
99 x 64 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: A mark was made for every Victorian diagnosed with COVID-19, until the task became too onerous and depressing.

Materials: cotton fabric, machine thread and disperse dyes.

Techniques: Machine stitch and overdyeing.

SHATTERED
©2020 Lorinda Freeman
106 x 65 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: Hopes and dreams of many people are shattered as a result of COVID-19, the more the numbers rose the further away people and places became.

Materials: Silk fabric, dyes, fabric paints, hand stitching.

Techniques: Machine stitch and overdyeing.

PICNIC RUG
©2020 Fiona Gavens
76 x 76 cm

Price: A$750

Statement: Woven rugs are deconstructed and reimagined as a quilt in which the underlying geometric structure is enlivened by the Japanese concept of wabi sabi.

Materials: Silk, cotton, polyester wadding.

Techniques: Machine patchwork, machine quilting.

BEATING THE BLUES
©2020 Margery Goodall
111 x 63 cm

Price: A$500

Statement: In times of stress, comfort food comes into its own. A rapidly growing stash of packaging from the online grocer provided inspiration for a Covid comfort quilt to beat the blues.

Materials: recycled transparent plastic wrap; recycled plastic food packaging.

Techniques: Machine stitch.

BLACK SUMMER
©2020 Barbara Gower
140 x 119 cm

Price: SOLD

Statement: How do you forget the acrid smell of smoke, brown skies and images of burning bush and property? It will be a long time before the anxious wait for news of family and friends and the heartache of losing places and people we love fade.

Materials: Vintage silk kimono, hand painted silk organza, wool felt, Perle cottons and beads.

Techniques: Machine pieced with raw edged inserts, hand appliqué, beaded and quilted.

Photographer: Chris Stimson

MOLLYMOOK SUMMER
©2020 Helen Gray
141 x 92 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: After the south coast summer bushfires the beach was covered in black leaves. Swimmers waded through leaves to enter the water and swam through swirls of leaves for some time afterwards

Materials: cotton, net, silk

Techniques: Machine piecing. Hand and machine quilting.

Photography: Tim Mooney

BLUE SPECIMEN
©2020 Julie Haddrick
142 x 113 cm

Price: A$2400

Statement: Artist's photographs inform this work, that evolved using various art techniques. Japanese traditions inspired artistic restraint to reflect the fading opportunities of our domestic wildlife; the Superb Blue Wren. Not wanting an ornithology specimen.

Materials: 100% Silk & Cotton fabrics (artist) indigo shibori dyed, hand painted; acrylic fabric paint.

Techniques: MMachine pieced, appliqué and quilting techniques.

Topography #1 Tailings by Lynne Hargeaves

TOPOGRAPHY #1 TAILINGS
©2020 Lynne Hargreaves
92 x 70 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: The artist is attracted to pattern in nature. Her current focus explores macro landscapes, the aerial viewpoint. They are not direct depictions but capture memories, fleeting moments and abstracted elements, re-imagined with fabric and stitch.

Materials: Hand-dyed cotton, fleece, organza, embroidery floss.

Techniques: Double needle and free motion machine stitching, chenille slashing, trapunto.

Topography #3 Sunrise by Lynne Hargeaves

Price: NFS

Statement: The artist is attracted to pattern in nature. The current focus is on the macro aerial viewpoint and with linear landscapes. Not direct depictions, they capture impressions and memories as abstracted elements, re-imagined with fabric and stitch.

Materials: Hand dyed cotton, organza, fleecy, embroidery floss.

Techniques: Double needle, free motion machine stitching, hand embroidery and chenille slashing.

Price: A$5,990

Statement: My wave series explores illusions of serenity from harsh reality. Melbourne has been in lockdown for months. Residents leave home only for exercise, food, medical care and permitted work. Yet, looking out the window, the world appears tranquil and at peace.

Materials: Silk habotai, 12 and 100wt thread, foil glue, acrylic paint, transfer foil, poly batting, cotton backing.

Techniques: Photography, photoshop, digital printing, free-machine embroidery, foiling, painting.

Price: NFS

Statement: They are quirky, cheeky, known for mimicking the sounds around them, mocking joyfully. Amongst the undergrowth, tree ferns and propeller gum foliage they call home we are given a glimpse of these shy creatures.

Materials: Cotton, cotton/polyester, chiffon, plain and variegated thread, cotton batting.

Techniques: Raw edge appliqué, coloured pencils, free motion quilted, thread painted.

Photography: Mahala Hill

JUROR INVITATIONAL WORK

Price: A$5500

Statement: Dora Creek flows near the artist’s home… she is interested in patterns created by light on water… trees and leaves… and the changing moods created by the weather day to day…

Techniques & Materials: Mono prints, drawing, painting with textile printing ink, stitching and quilting on cotton.

Price: A$1200

Statement: First comes the smell of smoke, then gently falling black ash. Day turns into orange, brown and black. Incineration aims to capture the surreal experience of fire moving through the landscape, the moment just before it wreaks havoc and destruction.

Materials: Fabric, wadding, thread, bleach, sprayer, native plant stencils, acrylic marker.

Techniques: Free motion machine stitching, spray painting using stencils, drawing.

Photography: Bruce Champion

Price: A$3400

Statement: The wildflowers in Western Australia are awe-inspiring. This stunning annual spectacle is however foreshadowed by increased numbers of charred trees throughout the landscape. A black death of old growth, caused by more intense, regular fires.

Materials: Inkjet canvas photographic print, acrylic marker, thread, wadding.

Techniques: Free motion machine stitching, photography, drawing.

Photography: Bruce Champion

Price: NFS

Statement: How is memory laid down? In a cross section, would we see the periods of scarcity, abundance, pain, or joy, the way a tree reveals its memory of seasons? What unfathomable system decides what is to become vague, what remains clear, what is lost?

Materials: Cotton core, cotton fabric, wire..

Techniques: Handwriting of memories, digital printing, wrapping, coiling, machine sewn, hand assembled.

Photography: Andrew Barcham

Price: NFS

recycling 40 years of images and memories.

Materials: Paper and recycled photographs.

Techniques: Pieced and machine stitched.

Photographer: Jasmin Kooper

FEEDING THE ACQUIFER
©2020 Alison Muir
159 x 198 x 1 cm (double-sided)

Price: $3000

Statement: nly recently have the 2 major rivers of the Eastern seaboard had sufficient flow to actually join on their journey to the sea; the Murray and the Darling Rivers. With sufficient flow, the aquifer will be fed; the Great Artesian Basin.

Materials: Recycled rayon, linen and kimono cloth.

Techniques: Dip dye and machine stitching

Photographer: Andy Payne

HABITAT DRIFT 1, 2 & 3
© 2020 Judi Nikoleski
76.5 x 138 cm

Price: A$590 each

Statement: This triptych is part of the artist's ongoing exploration of her suburban environment. Judi aims to create images that communicate transience, change and speed.

Materials: Cotton Japara fabric, cotton wadding, polyester/cotton backing, thread, fabric dye and paint.

Techniques: Air brushed stencil printing, quilting and hand dye painting on whole cloth.

RESTLESS FIERY NIGHT
© 2020 Judi Nikoleski
91.5 x85.5 cm

Price: A$790

Statement: This is one in a series focusing on the artist's suburban environment. The imagery comes from interest in the speed and fast change of contemporary Australian life. The glow of the night sky during summer bush fires adds colour to the darkness.

Materials: Cotton Japara fabric, cotton wadding, linen backing, thread, fabric dye and paint.

Techniques: Air brushed stencil printing, quilting and hand dye painting on whole cloth.

RUST & DECAY
© 2020 Lorraine Parker
77 x 77 cm

Price: A$1200

Statement: The often rustic nature of Australian landscape often tells of times long past or forgotten. They remain a reminder of our heritage and battles to survive.

Materials: Bubble-jet set and setting solution, rust objects, white cotton fabric, nu-wool wadding, backing fabric, and a variety of threads.

Techniques: Rusting of fabric, preparation of cotton for digital printing on A4 sheets, sizing of photos, free motion quilting, piecing

STANDING TREE
© 2019 Hilary Peterson
140 x 55 x 20 cm

Price: $900

Statement: Working with plant dyes allows Hilary to embed her work with elements of the natural world that fix it in a particular time and place. This work focuses on the patterns of the bark and the trunk of the tree, focusing our attention on its survival.

Materials: Silk and cotton fabric, adhesive wadding, cotton and metallic threads, wire

Techniques: Collage, natural dyeing and hand embroidery/stitching.

CORUNDUM
© 2020 Beth and Trevor Reid
150 x154 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: Denim is a tough and resilient fabric. Sapphire, one of the hardest gemstones in the Corundum family, occurs in a trigonal structure. The use of dark denim triangles through to washed out blues suggests a crystal structure in this triangular quilt.

Materials: Recycled denim fabric, 60/40 wool polyester wadding, cotton backing, cotton thread.

Techniques: Machine pieced and quilted.

ABANDONMENT #2
©2020 Sue Reid
100 x 130 cm

For Sale: A$750

Statement: An old factory, abandoned, fallen into disuse and disrepair. A relic from an industrial past, evoking memories of underage labour, exploitation, poverty and long hours worked. The sight of an old factory can be both haunting and intriguing.

Materials: Copyright-free Lewis Hines vintage photos, personal photos, acrylic paint, chiffon, machine embroidery threads.

Techniques: Photoimagery, appliqué, machine embroidery, freestyle machine quilting.

LANDLINES- SHADOWS II
©20120 Jill Rumble
75 x 91 cm

Price: $850

Statement: Born and bred in the country on a farm, has always been an influence on my creations. I moved to the city in my early 20s and that is now also giving me inspiration. Marks in our landscape made by humans, animals or nature.

Materials: Silk, cotton and eco dyeing.

Techniques: Eco dyeing, collage, hand and machine stitching.

Photography: Bård Haerland

ACUITY #5: ZEMBLANITY
© 2020 Brenda Gael Smith
173 x 132 cm

Price: A$3950

Statement: COVID-19 has been challenging to process as we constantly re-calibrate perceptions to accommodate the new normal. Pandemic metrics bring an outlook suffused with zemblanity. It goes beyond mere spectatorship - our lives have been materially altered.

Materials: cotton, dye, thread

Techniques: Machine piecing. Hand and machine stitching.

INTEGRIFOLIA #7: EMERGENCE
© 2020 Brenda Gael Smith
168 x 87 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: The cone-like fruits of the coastal banksia embody spaces of potentiality as the jostling chambers open up to release their seeds. Each cone is distinctive with their own lenticular patterns and design possibilities.

Materials: Hand-dyed and commercial cottons. Threads.

Techniques: Free cutting. Machine piecing. Machine quilting.

IT'S ABOUT LANGUAGE
©2020 Carolyn Sullivan
104 x 141cm

Price: NFS

Statement: New expressions are invented to fit new situations. Old expressions are reinvented to fit new circumstances. It is a recognition that words reflect the events in a period of time. Three distinct time periods are portrayed in these words.

Materials: Cotton and linen fabrics; cotton thread.

Techniques: Hand stitching.

Photographer: Andrew Sikorski

THE WANDERING STITCHER
© 2020 Tania Tanti
155 x 118 cm

Price: A$1350

Statement: A quilters journey takes us far and wide, across the oceans and around the world. We are all connected through woven cloth, texture and colourful fabrics and creations of centuries of cultural tradition and technique that bring us together to share.

Materials: Cotton, stretch fabric, fabric textures, and polyester thread.

Techniques: Piecing, appliqué, machine embroidery, and free motion quilting.

IF ONLY
© 2020 Lisa Walton
173 x 132px

Price: NFS

Statement: If only all building considered the effect on the environment with consideration for the energy they consume & pollution they create and still benefitted the occupants in the form of energy efficiency & comfort through their life cycle.

Materials: Cotton fabric and fabric paints.

Techniques: Raw edge appliqué, hand painted, stencilled & screen printed.

THE MMXX QUILT
© 2020 Jessica Wheelahan
250 x 190 cm

Price: NFS

Statement: The first impression, warm, comforting, benign. Upon reading the text, a mirror of musings borrowed from global media in stark contrast. Biting and with double meanings and acerbic colour combinations brings the reality of the composition home.

Materials: What was available... fashion remnants, old serviettes, old souvenir tea towels, used up, made do.

Techniques: Improv scrap piecing and lettering taken from the news media. Domestic machine and hand quilting.

Meet the Artist Videos

Twelve artists share the background to their artwork in The New Quilt: Fiona Gavens, Neroli Henderson, Irene Koroluk, Beth & Trevor Reid, Alison Miglietti, Alison Muir, Lorraine Parker, Brenda Gael Smith, Carolyn Sullivan, Tania Tanti, Lisa Walton and Jessica Wheelahan. View the Meet the Artist Zoom Event recording on YouTube.

An edited recording of the in-gallery artist floor talks at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery on 28 February 2021 featuring Rachaeldaisy Dodd, Brenda Gael Smith, Barbara Gower, Carolyn Sullivan, Amie Andrews and Marilyn Andrews.

Heritage Display: Miss Grace’s Quilt

In conjunction with The New Quilt, the heritage quilt Miss Grace’s Quilt by Sophia Wilbow of Pitt Town, Windsor (1829–1924) will also be on display. QuiltNSW acknowledges the support of Hawkesbury City Council and Hawkesbury Regional Gallery in hosting The New Quilt exhibition.