{"id":442604,"date":"2026-05-24T06:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T06:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/442604\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T06:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T06:07:21","slug":"review-the-topography-of-imagination-durango-arts-center-gallery-meets-the-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/442604\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The topography of imagination: Durango Arts Center Gallery meets the moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cHigh Plains of New Mexico,\u201d by Shannon Conley, is part of the Durango Arts exhibit \u201c4CC,\u201d through June 27. (Courtesy of J. Reynolds)<\/p>\n

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\u20184 Common Corners\u2019 is worth a long look and more than one visit<\/p>\n

\u201c4 Common Corners,\u201d the current exhibition at the Durango Arts Center, opened last week and continues through June 27. Do not miss it.<\/p>\n

Three dozen art quilts are on display. Created by 12 artists who all live in the Four Corners, the works include landscapes, narratives, abstractions and still life. Each is accompanied by a clear artist statement that briefly explains a precipitating idea or image and concludes with technical details. In addition, a table of samples with explanations about various techniques adds immensely to the educational experience.<\/p>\n

WHAT: \u201c4 Common Corners,\u201d an exhibit of art quilts<\/p>\n

WHERE: Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave.<\/p>\n

WHEN: Through June 27. Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday<\/p>\n

ADMISSION: Free<\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION: Call 259-2606 or visit www.durangoarts.org<\/a><\/p>\n

The show is visually beguiling and sometimes challenging with the bonus of well-written educational components. Take your time.<\/p>\n

Two extremely different works stand out: \u201cHigh Plains of New Mexico\u201d and \u201c212 Canyon Road.\u201d Both are by Shannon Conley, but you would never guess the same artist created them. The landscape quilt is really a skyscape that verges on pure abstraction. With subtle gradations, the colors shimmer into one another and drift into an elegant border. Rippled and swirling free machine stitching links everything together. It\u2019s a light-filled mirage that suggests spontaneity \u2013 despite then obviously labor-intensive process.<\/p>\n

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\u201c212 Canyon Road, \u201cby Shannon Conley. (Courtesy of J. Reynolds)<\/p>\n

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The most unusual work in the exhibit is Conley\u2019s \u201c212 Canyon Road.\u201d Her statement suggests it is a memory piece connected to a childhood in New Mexico. In reality, it is a boldly three-dimensional work that\u2019s a delicate topographical map. Layers of colors float in space. As if seen from above, pale sheathes bloom then cascade to faded blue and gray. \u201c212\u201d stretches the boundaries of art quilts into sculpture and makes a powerful aesthetic statement.<\/p>\n

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Detail of \u201c212 Canyon Road\u201d by Shannon Conley. (Courtesy of J. Reynolds)<\/p>\n

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Diana Fox\u2019s more graphic landscape, \u201cThe First Quiet Hour,\u201d balances sky and land. With a low horizon, she builds abstract shapes to constitute a dry land and a blazing sky full of light. She substitutes tiny square quilt blocks for human structures. Fox\u2019s \u201cConnections\u201d nearby shows her skill at pure abstraction with interlocking circular forms and free-motion quilting.<\/p>\n

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“The First Quiet Hour,\u201c by Diana Fox. (Courtesy of J. Reynolds)<\/p>\n

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Frances Murphy\u2019s unusual still life, \u201cThe Ghost of Mexican Rita,\u201d appears to be another memory piece. In her statement, she admits to beginning with an experience, a photo and the apparition of an interior with a still life, a window and a figure beyond the curtain. Using vintage fabrics among many other elements, Murphy has created a poignant reverie that transcends her materials. And that\u2019s what art quilts aspire to \u2013 transcending the utilitarian roots of quilt making to enter the realm of imagination, wonder and artistic exploration.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Ghost of Mexican Rita,\u201d by Frances Murphy. (Courtesy of J. Reynolds)<\/p>\n

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Some works seem to struggle with the transition from idea to completed projects. And a conundrum that tests artists in any medium applies: What medium best serves a creative idea? It\u2019s a discussion worth having when an image or inspiration surfaces. In some 4CC works, there seems to be a disconnect between inspiration and execution. Ask: Would this work have been more successful in water color, oil, acrylic or photography? It\u2019s a question for art lovers to ponder.<\/p>\n

\u201c4 Common Corners\u201d is worth a long look and more than one visit.<\/p>\n

Arts and crafts<\/p>\n

Late in 2019, Vicki Conley, Studio Art Quilt Associates\u2019 New Mexico Regional representative, organized the 4CC art-quilt group. She invited 11 colleagues who live in the Four Corners to join her, meet monthly and plan annual exhibitions. All belong to SAQA, the prestigious international organization that has been around since 1989. 4CC is an unofficial offshoot of the parent organization, Conley said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n

SAQA is a modern version of a medieval guild in European history. Well-organized craft guilds laid the groundwork for the Renaissance, and the concept of standards, apprenticeships and regulations has served the trades and impacted the realm of fine art.<\/p>\n

In our time, traditional crafts like woodworking, metal craft, ceramics and textiles, have undergone a seismic change. Even before the technological revolution, utilitarian crafts marched forward to include nonfunctional decoration and symbolic representation. In the 20th century, expressive art, \u201cfine art,\u201d widened its range of practices and media so that now any material, even found objects, serve the artistic impulse.<\/p>\n

In 1983, a major exhibition of fabric art, \u201cThe Art Quilt,\u201d coined the term that now attaches itself to the practice of putting fiber art on a wall, not just on a bed.<\/p>\n

Five years later, art quilters formed the modern guild, SAQA, which now has an international membership above 7,000. Like a medieval guild, it has a structure, president, board, staff, publications, traveling exhibitions and educational components.<\/p>\n

Quilting as an art form has come a long way since the arts-and-crafts resurgence in the last century. In 1997, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, established the International Quilt Museum.<\/p>\n

In summer 2025, one of SAQA\u2019s traveling shows came to the DAC. Thanks to Amanda Preston Ara\u00fajo, SAQA\u2019s Colorado representative, \u201cBalance\u201d brought another themed collection to light. Credit Executive Director Beth Lamberson Warren and Ben Dukeminier, director of the Barbara Conrad Gallery and visual arts and education, for continuing to introduce us to forward-looking art.<\/p>\n

Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.<\/p>\n

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