UMaine MFA Student Selected For Exclusive Quilt Exhibition
Contact: Gabriella D’Italia, (207) 234-2542
Note: A high-resolution image that represents D’Italia’s work is available from Kristen Andresen at 581-3742 or kristen.andresen@umit.maine.edu.
ORONO — Gabriella D’Italia, a student in UMaine’s Intermedia master of fine arts program, has been selected to participate in Quilt National 2009. The juried, biennial exhibition is dedicated to promoting the contemporary quilt as an art form.
D’Italia’s Black Finery will be on display at the Cultural Arts Center in Athens, Ohio, from May 23 to Sept. 7, 2009. It will also appear in a full color catalog of the exhibition. Quilt National 2009 will then travel to museums and galleries throughout the United States.
The Quilt National exhibition reflects the vision of quilting as art that D’Italia plans to pursue in her Intermedia studies.
“It really changes the perception of what people think about as quilting,” D’Italia says. “It really does effectively bridge the gap between art and quilting that a lot of laymen don’t understand.”
Black Finery is one of approximately 85 selections that represent unique approaches to the medium and that demonstrate the breadth and diversity of contemporary quilting. Jurors chose each piece in the show for originality, design, technique and craftsmanship.
About the Intermedia MFA program at UMaine
The University of Maine is home to the region’s only master of fine arts degree program in Intermedia. The student-driven program blends arts courses with research in areas including but not limited to environmental studies, engineering, business, social sciences and new media. MFA director Owen Smith explains that this interdisciplinary approach encourages innovation and creative problem-solving in a way that is applicable to any industry or creative application.