Playing with a Modern Deck at Art Ovation Hotel

"Jack of Hearts" by Jayne Irene

Art Ovation Hotel is an often overlooked part of Sarasota's cultural community. As a Marriott "Autograph Collection" hotel, its mission is to provide guests with opportunities to engage in activities reflective of the community. In Sarasota, that means the arts. So I'm sure Art Ovation has an excellent concierge service to provide guests with information about theater, art, music and dance happenings in our area. But the hotel is also a gallery, with multiple art exhibits on display for guests and members of the public to enjoy. Which brings me to "Playing with a Modern Deck," an exhibit created by members of the South Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild (aka S2MQG). 

If you're like me, the word "quilt" calls to mind patchwork bedding lovingly created by someone's grandmother. And that style of quilt is great. But art quilts are a different animal altogether. As the Art Quilt Association's website explains: "An art quilt is an original exploration of a concept or idea rather than the handing down of a 'pattern.' It experiments with textile manipulation, color, texture and/or a diversity of mixed media. An Art Quilt often pushes quilt world boundaries." Note that after being defined, the term "art quilt" has gained capitalization. I love it. For a more detailed explanation about characteristics of art quilts, click here. 

"Six of Spades" by Jann Warfield

I was looking forward to seeing "Playing with a Modern Deck" from the moment I heard about the exhibit. You may know that I'm an avid -- but quite mediocre -- bridge player who spends way too much time playing cards online. It's not often that my interests in art and bridge come together. 

The inspiration for the Art Ovation exhibit was a quilt show held in 1995 at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery entitled "Playing with a Full Deck." Sue Pierce, organizer of the Smithsonian show, believed an exhibit of art quilts depicting playing cards would be appealing to professional quilters and viewers alike. As an article by Diane Bolz in Smithsonian Magazine noted, "The intrinsic familiarity of cards--from impassioned childhood games of 'war' and 'go fish' to congenial evenings of poker or solo forays into computer solitaire--made them an ideal subject for artistic interpretation." 

Pierce was right. The 54 quilt exhibit, which depicted all 52 cards plus two jokers, was a hit. After its run at the Renwick, the show traveled to 23 other venues, compliments of the Smithsonian's Traveling Exhibition Service. To read an article from the Washington Post about "Playing with a Full Deck" (which has more card-related puns than you could possibly imagine), click here. And to see some images from the show, click here. 

"The Joker" by Carla Williams

Last year, Peg Normandin gave a presentation about the Renwick exhibit to S2MQG members. Would they be interested in creating their own take on the concept? To steal a phrase from the Post article, the members responded with a resounding, "Deal us in." (Groans allowed.) 

Quilters chose which playing card to create within the parameters of the challenge. All quilts had to be 14"x22." (Cards in a deck are of course the same size, and larger quilts would make finding exhibit space difficult.) Colors were restricted to black, white, gray and red tints and shades. As for technical parameters, the quilting had to be through three layers and the binding had to faced (which means the sides are turned under for a clean look).  

The quilters' approaches to their cards were wildly varied. Some were fairly straightforward interpretations; others were visual puns. While there were a lot of contenders, my favorite quilt was Jayne Irene's "Jack of Hearts." So clever. And it didn't hurt that the adorable jack terrier was positioned near the door, the favorite spot of all dogs awaiting their owner's return home. 

"Playing with a Modern Deck" is yet another example of the artistic talent right here in Sarasota. The exhibit will be on display at Art Ovation through the end of the year along with "Chasing Waves" by Humberto Castro, "Inner Colors" by Philippe Attie, "Refuge" by Maria Silvana Sandoval and "Spontaneous Inner Reflective Perspective" by Daniel Rankin. Check it out the next time you're downtown. You'll never look at quilts the same way again.