Nancy Crow
Nancy Morrison Crow (born 1943) is an American art quilter and fiber artist.[1]
Crow was born in 1943 in the small town of Loudonville, Ohio. She is the youngest of eight children.[2] Crow studied ceramics and weaving at Ohio State University where she earned a BFA in 1965 and a MFA in 1969. In 1979, she began to concentrate seriously on quilt making. Her emphasis from the beginning was on graphic power of color. In her early quilts, she juxtaposed traditional quilt patterns like the Log Cabin block with vibrant color combinations. Her later works use her own asymmetrical designs. Crow is one of the leading figures in the development of the art quilting movement of the 1970s and 1980s. She is also a founder of the Quilt National exhibitions (which began in 1979). In 1994, she established a workshop facility on the farm where she lives, near Baltimore, Ohio.
She says of her work:
"I have made more than 300 quilts. The purpose of my quilts is to make something beautiful but, at the same time, my quilts are a means of expression, representing my deepest feelings and my life experiences. In addition, my quilts are all about how I see color and color relationships, how I see shapes, and how I see line and linear movements. They are also about complexity, sadness, and hope."[3]
Quilt series
- Newe (1980)
- Bittersweet (1980–1982) In 1979 Crow and her husband moved to a 50-acre farm west of Baltimore, Ohio. Bittersweet is a series of 22 quilts produced during the three-year period after she and her husband moved to the farm.[4]
- Tramp Art (1983 – )
- Passion (1983–1985) A series of five quilts Crow created while she cared for her dying mother.
- Yellow Crosses' (1985)
- Lady of Guadalupe (1985–1988)
- Jacob's Ladder (1986 – )
- Amish Paisley (1987 – )
- Mexican Wheels (1987 – )
- Double Mexican Wedding Rings (1988–1992) This series combines the traditional Double Wedding Ring block with innovative changes in the scale of the blocks and her dramatic use of color.
- Color Blocks I (1988–1991) Color Blocks I comprised three quilts: Color Blocks #1, Color Blocks #2, Color Blocks #3 (1988–1989). These three quilts explore visual complexity. In 1990 Crow returned to the Color Blocks series and created Color Blocks #4, which explores the square as a motif.[5]
- Bow Tie (1991–1995) This series of 13 quilts explores the traditional quilt block Bow Tie in the context of abstract expressionist painting and asymmetrical shapes. Using simple shapes and simple formats, Crow explores the figure/ground relationship.[6]
- Constructions (1995–present) This series comprises more than 75 quilts. They mark Crow's ongoing explorations of shape and the actions of sewing, cutting and re-sewing to form complex patterns.[1]
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- Chinese Souls (1990–1994) In September 1990, Crow visited Xi'an in Shaanxi Province in China. While there she witnessed an episode of police brutality. Trucks filled with young men were driven around the city by the police with the sirens blaring. The young men had committed crimes and were scheduled to be executed. Crow created a series of quilts in which the circle represented the souls of the men scheduled to be executed, color threads symbolized the ropes around their necks.[7]
Exhibitions
- 1992 Invitational: Craft Today USA, sponsored by the American Craft Museum, New York, New York.
- Solo at the Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, Ohio, June 30 – September 27, 1992.
- British Craft Council Gallery, London, England, July 15 – September 5, 1994.
- Solo at the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, August 25, 1995 – January 1, 1996.
Collections
Crow's works are in the following collections:
- The American Craft Museum, New York City
- The Museum of American Folk Art, New York, New York
- Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, Ohio
- Ardis and Robert James
- John M. Walsh III
- Jack Lenor Larsen
- Mark Levine
- Mr. and Mrs. Tim Keny
- Bill and Ruth Lantz
- The Electric Quilt Company
- Ropes & Gray law firm, Boston, Massachusetts
- General Foods headquarters, New York, New York
- K-Mart International Headquarters, Detroit, Michigan[8]
References
- 1 2 Koplos, Janet; Metcalf, Bruce (2010). Makers: a history of American studio craft. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 422. ISBN 9780807834138.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (1990). Nancy Crow, quilts and influences (1st ed.). Paducah, KY: American Quilter's Society. p. 22. ISBN 0891459448.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (2006). Nancy Crow. Elmhurst, IL: Breckling Press. p. vii. ISBN 1933308036.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (1990). Nancy Crow, quilts and influences (1st ed.). Paducah, KY: American Quilter's Society. p. 50. ISBN 0891459448.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (2006). Nancy Crow. Elmhurst, IL: Breckling Press. p. 35. ISBN 1933308036.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (2006). Nancy Crow. Elmhurst, IL: Breckling Press. p. 52. ISBN 1933308036.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (2006). Nancy Crow. Elmhurst, IL: Breckling Press. p. 69. ISBN 1933308036.
- ↑ Crow, Nancy (1995). Nancy Crow—improvisational quilts. Lafayette, CA: C & T Pub. p. 38. ISBN 1571200045.