Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev’s late-1980s emphasis on glasnost—“openness and transparency”—continued in politics and society. Increased dialogue with the West was a hallmark of 1990s glasnost, and groups of American and Russian quiltmakers embarked on some groundbreaking cultural exchange projects. The pieces in this exhibition were made by Russian women who were taught quiltmaking skills by a group of American teachers. The quilts are dominated by images of Russian fairy tales, folk objects, and traditional architecture.

Guest curator David Hornung has selected eleven artists who embrace a spirit of experimentation that reflects prevailing trends in textile construction. These artists’ work honors tradition while pointing to the future. Hornung’s interest in handmade textile crafts dates to a youthful affinity with the aesthetic philosophy of the Bauhaus, which collapsed the hierarchy between “high” and “low” art. For six years in the early 1980s, Hornung made and exhibited work that integrated the vocabularies of Modernist surface organization and traditional patchwork.

David Hornung is an artist, author, and teacher. Over the last 45 years, he has taught at Rhode Island School of Design, Brooklyn College, Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, Skidmore College, and Indiana University. Hornung is currently a full professor at Adelphi University on Long Island.

Eliza Jones’ “Song Quilts” are visual interpretations of folk music from four regional traditions in the United States and Russia. Jones, a classically trained musician, transforms field recordings into quilts via a notation method that transposes rhythm into shape and pitch into color. The Song Quilts celebrates folk music and quiltmaking, two traditions that women have used to sustain and build their cultures for centuries.