Large-scale quilt installation opens Jan. 18

A large-scale quilt installation, “totis viribus (with all my might),” by Iowa City, Iowa, fiber artist Erick Wolfmeyer is on display in Cornell College’s Peter Paul Luce Gallery in McWethy Hall Jan. 18–Feb. 19.

Made as a gift with the help of a pattern, Wolfmeyer started his first quilt in 1998, while living in Yountville, California. He now works exclusively from his own designs, which start as pencil sketches. Albeit unplanned, his quilts have developed into a full-fledged art career and have been featured in numerous publications in the U.S. and Europe. In addition to multiple exhibits in the U.S., his work has been shown throughout China (2012), and in the Alsace region of France (2018).

In a quote from his art statement Wolfmeyer describes what art-making means in the context of these works: 

“Since childhood, I had the impulse to create. I instinctively attended to patterns, and contradictions to those patterns. I sought to understand how things were related, especially in ways below the surface. Expressed in abstract patterns, color relationships, and the act of repetitive construction, creating remains the core of my identity.

I make quilts for the common good, not the least of which is my own. I make them to be an inspiration, a joy, and a transcendent experience for both myself, and the viewer.”

Wolfmeyer’s full-time day job and quilt sales support his ability to continue making new work at his studio in Iowa City. He works mostly on weekends or extended periods of time off. His quilts are machine-pieced with a simple straight stitch. He credits the generosity of fellow quilters for everything he knows about sewing. Facilitated through a broker in northern Indiana, Wolfmeyer is deeply committed to all of his work being Amish hand-quilted.

Inspired from a broad array of sources, Wolfmeyer’s work celebrates and extends the possibilities of the medium, while remaining true to the geometry and construction techniques of traditional quilt making.

Wolfmeyer completed his formal education in 1990 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned a bachelor of fine arts in photography, studying with photographer Joe Deal (1947–2010), one of the founding artists of the New Topographics movement. 

A virtual opening will take place on Instagram (@ewolfmeyerquilts) on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m.

Peter Paul Luce Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Sunday: 2–4 pm. 

*Maximum five guests at a time allowed in the gallery, unless physically distancing with a class approved by the Art Department. Masks are required in McWethy Hall and the Peter Paul Luce Gallery.

Sponsored by the Department of Art & Art History of Cornell College with funding from the Peter Paul Luce Programming Endowment.

For more information contact scoleman@cornellcollege.edu or visit ewolfmeyerquilts.com.