A new exhibition at Golden’s Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum celebrates and elevates the stitchcraft of men.
No longer humble bedcoverings, quilts have come into their own as powerful formats for artistic expression and storytelling.
RMQM Exhibits Manager Shirley Esher said the Rocky Mountain High Men’s 16th Biennial Exhibit is now open and is one of the museum’s most talked-about quilt shows.
“I don’t know how it started, but people are just thrilled when we have the men’s exhibit,” she said. “There’s such a range of topics and styles — there’s some traditional quilts as well as art quilts; they’re just really fun.”
She added that the stories accompanying the more than 30 quilts on display are intriguing.
She first points to Canadian quilter Bill Stearman and his art quilt titled “His name is Clarence,” a handsewn personal statement about his journey with cancer.
Then, Denver artist Micheal Gold’s quilt, “Autumn Splendor,” pays homage to a maple tree in the front yard of his childhood home. He started the quilt two decades ago while touring with the Broadway production of “Annie.”
The Men’s Biennial Exhibit runs through April 16 in the museum’s main gallery and concurrently with Maynard Westlake’s solo show in the northeast gallery.
Westlake’s exhibit features a collection of quilts inspired by Impressionist artists such as Monet and Van Gogh.
Visitors to the show may also be interested in RMQM’s quilting education programs, ranging from lectures to hands-on workshops and a fun-filled summer program for young quilters.
RMQM’s Sandra Dallas Library contains more than 8,500 books, pamphlets, and DVDs. In addition, the self-supporting library offers a wide range of quilt-related subjects, from history to fiction, to patterns, out-of-print literature and techniques.
The public is welcome to visit and browse the collection.
Incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 1982, RMQM opened in 1990 in downtown Golden, with a gift of 101 quilts from the personal collection of Eugenia Mitchell, the museum’s founder.
Since then, RMQM has served the community as a trusted repository for treasured family heirlooms, historically significant quilts, and cutting-edge contemporary quilts.
It is one of only 11 dedicated quilt museums in the nation.
The museum has more than 60 volunteers, all promising to help keep interested visitors in — well — in stitches.