Celebrate the Art of Quilting at Our Quilt Show Opening Reception February 4
A quilt can warm a bed, brighten a room, preserve a memory, and stop you in your tracks all at once. That is the beauty of quilting. It is practical, personal, and deeply creative—and our upcoming quilt exhibition celebrates the many ways fabric, color, pattern, and thread can become something extraordinary.
The Art of the Quilt: A Celebration of Quilts, a juried exhibition at Two Rivers Arts in Montross, Virginia, invites quilters to submit their work for consideration. Applications are open through January 16, 2027, with reduced entry fees for applications received by December 18, 2026. The exhibition runs February 4–27, 2027, with a Judges’ Talk and Awards from 3:00–5:00 p.m. and an Opening Reception from 5:00–7:00 p.m. on February 4. Explore the four exhibition categories and application details at www.2RiversArts.com.
Whether you are a quilter, a collector, a longtime admirer of handmade work, or simply someone who appreciates creativity, this exhibition offers an opportunity to see quilting as both a treasured tradition and an evolving art form.
More Than a Quilt
Quilting brings together craftsmanship, design, patience, and imagination. Some quilts are rooted in familiar patterns passed from one generation to the next. Others explore contemporary design, unusual materials, or personal stories. Still others transform quilting into a form of artistic expression that invites viewers to pause, look closely, and consider what they see.
The Art of the Quilt celebrates this range by welcoming work across several categories:
Traditional Quilts — Works that draw on established patterns, classic blocks, and familiar quilting approaches.
Modern Quilts — Contemporary designs that may feature bold color, geometric shapes, asymmetry, or fresh interpretations of traditional patterns.
Art & Pictorial Quilts — Quilted works that emphasize artistic expression, imagery, storytelling, composition, or personal meaning.
Innovative Materials & Techniques — Work that explores creative approaches to materials, construction, or the quilting process.
Each category offers a different way to experience quilting, but all share the maker’s decisions about color, texture, structure, and detail.
Discover the Details in Traditional Quilts
Traditional quilts often carry a strong sense of history. Familiar blocks, repeated patterns, carefully arranged fabrics, and balanced borders can connect a finished piece to generations of quilt making.
Yet tradition does not mean that every quilt looks alike. A traditional quilt might be quiet and understated, bright and cheerful, or filled with a lively assortment of fabrics. The maker’s choices give each piece its own character.
As you look, notice how repeated blocks create rhythm, how fabric placement changes a pattern, and how borders frame the overall design. Look closely at the quilting stitches, too. They can add movement, texture, and another layer of craftsmanship.
Traditional quilts may also carry personal meaning. A fabric might come from a family collection, or a pattern may have been learned from a friend, parent, grandparent, or quilting group. Some quilts commemorate milestones or are made to comfort someone loved.
The design may be familiar, but the story behind it belongs to the maker.
Experience the Fresh Perspective of Modern Quilts
Modern quilts can feel bold, open, playful, or dramatic. They may use large areas of color, unexpected proportions, strong contrast, or asymmetrical designs. Some reinterpret traditional blocks, while others explore line, shape, and space in new ways.
Notice how your eye moves across a modern quilt. Does a geometric shape catch your attention? Does a splash of color create energy? How does the maker balance open space with pattern?
Modern does not necessarily mean simple. A design with fewer pieces may require careful planning and precise construction. When a composition is uncluttered, every seam, line, and color choice becomes more noticeable.
These quilts demonstrate how a longstanding craft can continue to change while remaining connected to the familiar materials of fabric, batting, and thread.
When Quilting Becomes Art
Art and pictorial quilts invite viewers to consider quilting as a visual language. A piece may depict a recognizable scene, explore an abstract idea, tell a story, or express a personal experience. Texture, stitching, layering, and fabric choices all contribute to the finished work.
One way to appreciate these quilts is to look at them in stages.
First, take in the entire piece. What is your immediate impression? Does it feel peaceful, energetic, mysterious, joyful, or unexpected?
Next, notice how the composition guides your eye. Where do you look first? What draws you to another part of the work?
Finally, look more closely at the details. The stitching, layers, edges, and materials may reveal something you did not notice at first.
You do not need to know the artist’s intention to enjoy the work. Sometimes a piece connects with us because of its colors or textures. Sometimes its meaning unfolds gradually. And sometimes the pleasure is simply in seeing an artist use familiar materials in an unfamiliar way.
Creativity Beyond the Traditional Quilt
Quilting can also extend beyond the bed quilt or wall hanging. Innovative materials, creative techniques, and unexpected approaches can expand what we think of as quilting.
These works encourage us to consider the possibilities of the medium. How can a different material change the look or feel of a piece? What happens when a maker experiments with construction or surface texture? How can traditional skills be used in a new way?
Exploration is part of what keeps an art form alive. By welcoming a variety of approaches, The Art of the Quilt recognizes both the knowledge behind traditional quilting and the imagination that carries it forward.
Take Time to Look Closely
A good quilt exhibition can be enjoyed in many ways. Some visitors come to admire the craftsmanship. Others look for inspiration, study techniques, or discover new design ideas. Still others simply enjoy the beauty of handmade work.
To make the most of your visit, begin by taking in the exhibition as a whole. Notice which pieces catch your attention from across the room. Then move closer to appreciate the stitching, fabric combinations, patterns, and construction.
Give yourself permission to return to a piece that interests you. A quilt that catches your eye immediately may reveal new details on a second look. Another may grow on you as you spend time with it.
If you quilt yourself, you may find yourself studying the maker’s choices and techniques. If you do not, you can still appreciate the care and thought that go into transforming individual pieces of fabric into a complete work.
And remember: there is no single right way to respond to art. Your favorite piece may be the one that reminds you of home, surprises you with its design, or simply makes you smile.
Celebrate Quilting at Two Rivers Arts
Quilting brings together design, patience, skill, and imagination. It also brings people together. Quilts are often made, taught, and shared in community, and an exhibition gives these creations a public place to be seen and appreciated.
The variety of work in The Art of the Quilt reflects the many ways people approach this enduring art form. Traditional patterns, contemporary designs, pictorial imagery, and innovative techniques all contribute to a broader appreciation of what quilting can be.
Most of all, this exhibition invites us to slow down and look. Handmade work reminds us that beauty can emerge from a series of thoughtful decisions—one cut, one seam, and one stitch at a time.
Join Two Rivers Arts in Montross, Virginia, February 4–27, 2027, for The Art of the Quilt: A Celebration of Quilts. Attend the Judges’ Talk and Awards from 3:00–5:00 p.m. and the Opening Reception from 5:00–7:00 p.m. on February 4.
Bring a friend, linger over the details, and discover the creativity and craftsmanship that make each quilt unique. We look forward to celebrating the art of quilting with you.
