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The terms "impressionism" and "landscape art" might conjure up images of a painter, in smock and beret, brush in hand, facing an easel in some lovely outdoor tableau. Replace the brush and easel in that scene with a loom or a quilters' frame and one begins to get the idea, at least figuratively, of the kinds of vistas that textile artists Mary Merrill and Elizabeth Barton created in fiber and cloth.
The works of these artists are featured in Captured by the Moment: The Art of Mary Merrill and Elizabeth Barton, opening Jan. 27 at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.
New England artist Merrill learned weaving in college and created fiber art her whole life, but it wasn't until rather late in her life, around 1986, after influential workshops in Boston and France, that she began to create the colorful tapestries most associated with her work. The works of Merrill are well known on the East Coast, but this exhibit will mark the first show of her works on the West Coast. Merrill died in 1999.
Barton, a native of England, creates quilts that are considered traditional in structure and yet she employs unusual techniques, from unique dyeing processes to painting on the fabric before it is sewn into a quilt. Her works are also noted for their emphasis on architectural forms as subject matter. Barton is currently based in Athens, Ga., where she works as a clinical psychologist.
The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles presents "Captured by the Moment: The Art of Mary Merrill and Elizabeth Barton" Jan. 27March 28 at 110 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose. An opening reception takes place Feb. 1, 24 p.m. Museum admission is $4$5. For more information, call 408.971.0323 or see www.sjquiltmuseum.org.
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