An architect and FAMU professor, Valerie Goodwin began designing and making quilts as an outgrowth of her architectural background. Most of Goodwin’s work is inspired by city grids, maps and aerial views of landscapes and communities both real and imagined. Her work has moved through various stages from traditional quilting to abstract expressionism. In some cases, her work shows an architectural sense of space with an archeological perspective. In others, the network of the city and its built form is more prominent.

Goodwin derives immense professional satisfaction and artistic expression from making things by hand. She also has a deep interest in the latest technology and has recently been investigating laser cutting, a precise method of making complex voids across the delicate surface of fabric. In this exhibition, Goodwin’s art quilts strike a critical balance regarding the interaction between designer, technology and materiality.

Her work has been included in numerous magazines such as American Craft, Fiber Arts, Quilting Art, and British Patchwork and Quilting. Her own book, Art Quilt Maps: Capture a Sense of Place with Fiber Collage, gives readers an inside look at her process. Goodwin’s art quilts have been exhibited in venues all over the county including at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY. Always an educator, she teaches workshops globally, as far away as Switzerland. She has been awarded an artist residency and many other accolades for her innovative creations.

Meet the artist and enjoy refreshments during a public exhibition reception on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

This exhibition is one of many curated by the Council on Culture & Arts for the Art in Public Places program on behalf of the City of Tallahassee. For more information about this program, click here. For more information about this exhibition, upcoming exhibitions, or the Art in Public Places program, contact Amanda Karioth Thompson at COCA, (850) 224-2500 or amanda@tallahasseearts.org.