'Wild by Design' quilt exhibition through July 30 at MONA

The quilt exhibition "Wild by Design" will be on view at the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney through July 30. Twenty-five dynamic quilts from the collection of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln form an exhibition that explores innovation, abstraction and figurative design by quilt makers from the early 1800s to the present day.

This exhibition highlights the aesthetic dimensions of the unique quilts considered to be "crazy." For at least 200 years, American artists have made quilts in which off-beat color placement and manipulation of printed textile patterns have combined with bold experimentation in block formation and applique. The selection of works on display at the Museum of Nebraska Art affirms that one of American quilt artists' greatest aesthetic legacy is that their work is, in every sense of the term, "wild by design."

The Museum of Nebraska Art, 2401 Central Ave., Kearney, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. It is closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is free.

The online database of the International Quilt Study Center provides an easily searchable source of more than 1,800 quilts from the IQSC collection. Visit the International Quilt Study Center Web site at www.quiltstudy.unl.edu and search by key words such as wild, crazy and abstract to enjoy images and information about quilts "wild by design."

CONTACT: Maureen Ose, Communications Coordinator, International Quilt Study Center, (402) 472-7232; or

Gina Garden, Museum of Nebraska Art, (308) 865-8870