'Visual Systems: The Quilter's Eye' focus of new quilt exhibition

Expressive qualities and sophisticated use of design elements distinguish the quilts in "Visual Systems: The Quilter's Eye," an International Quilt Study Center and Museum exhibit opening July 9 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Eisentrager-Howard Gallery.

This exhibition runs through Sept. 25 and features a selection of historical and contemporary quilts from the collection of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum at UNL. Curator Peggy Derrick, quilt studies graduate student in the UNL Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, created the exhibition in cooperation with UNL's Department of Art and Art History. Programming during the run of the exhibition will hold special appeal for quilters, artists and designers.

During the "Visual Systems" exhibit, Eisentrager-Howard Gallery hours will be noon to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. The gallery is on the first floor of Richards Hall, Stadium Drive and T Street on UNL's City Campus. Parking is available in the garage near Richards Hall.

Derrick will discuss the visual systems theme in a talk at 12:15 p.m. July 9 in the gallery. A lecture will be given at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in Richards Hall Room 15 by painter, author and quilt maker David Hornung. The chair of the art department at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., Hornung will discuss the contested place of both historical and nontraditional quilts in the art world, and how their visual power and assertiveness transcend the everyday functions associated with them. He will relate the quilts to design education for art students and quilters alike. A closing reception will follow in the gallery.

Middle and high school art teachers are welcome to a workshop at 4 p.m. Sept. 24. The workshop will be conducted by Derrick and quilt museum education coordinator Angela Konin. Teachers will learn to use quilts to teach two-dimensional design concepts and will leave with sample lesson plans. For more information or to register for the workshop, contact Angela Konin at akonin2@unl.edu or (402) 472-7030.

"Visual Systems" and all associated activities are free and open to the public, but registration is required for the workshop.

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St., is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays. Docent-led tours begin at 11 a.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for non-UNL students with ID and children; $10 for families; free for children under 5, museum members, and UNL faculty, staff and students with ID. For more information, call (402) 472-6459 or visit www.quiltstudy.org. The International Quilt Study Center is an academic program of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design in the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences.