PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.- The Arthur Ross Gallery presents "At The Cutting Edge: The State of the Art Quilt", an exhibition opening June 15 – July 28, 2002. Recent works by six Philadelphia artists in a range of techniques exemplify the diversity and sophistication of contemporary fabric artists and the fine art of quilt making. Varying techniques inspired by graphic design and typography, or using hand-painted or dye-painted fabrics, found objects and recycled everyday materials offer multiple perspectives that reinterpret this tradition.



The artists include: Cindy Friedman, Amy Orr, Leslie Pontz, Emily Richardson, Lonni Rossi, and Deborah Schwartzman.



Cindy Friedman has spent the last twenty years focused on textiles in the quilt and the fashion design world. She is intrigued by human forms and interactions with man-made environments, often geometric in nature. Her nationally exhibited work can be found in private collections and locally in the Hospital of the University of PA, Infectious Disease Clinic and the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. She is a former faculty member of Drexel University, Fashion Design Department.



Amy Orr’s work contrasts decorative needlework traditions with contemporary materials and concepts. She uses the framework and historic context of quilt making to explore American social patterns and themes. Orr’s work celebrates pleasure, escape, obsession and excess and her view is usually humorous and hopeful. Amy Orr is the Chairperson of the Rosemont College Art Department. She received her MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is included in several recent publications.



Leslie Pontz “pushes the envelope” using quilting techniques to create non-traditional fiber art, weaving drawings and fabric together. Leslie holds a masters degree in printmaking from Syracuse University and was the recipient of two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts as an artist-in-residence. She is the former owner/designer of Leslie Pontz Design, an international manufacturing company.



Leslie has shown internationally in invitational and juried exhibits in Paris and Brazil as well as throughout the U.S. Leslie is a co-founder of ArtQuilts at the Sedgwick, a nationally acclaimed east coast venue for the exhibition of art quilts. At present, she is represented by the Snyderman/Works Gallery in Philadelphia and is part of many private and public collections.



Emily Richardson’s abstract compositions of painted silks and delicate hand stitching have been exhibited in Europe and throughout the U.S. Her work is included in the collections of the American Craft Museum, Comcast Corporation, and the Pew Charitable Trust, and appears in numerous publications including THE ART QUILT by Robert Shaw. She is the recipient of the Leeway Foundation Award for Excellence in Fiberarts.



Lonni Rossi, a graphic designer and fiber artist, creates abstract, typographically motivated and multi-processed art cloth. Her quilt work focuses on the statement of inner emotions and spiritual journeys, combining her one-of-a-kind fabrics with intense machine embroidery and quilting. Lonni’s work has appeared in many national exhibits, and hangs in museums and private collections. Her commercial line of fabrics, “the typographical elements collection”, is manufactured and distributed by Andover Fabrics, a subsidiary of Concord Fabrics, Inc. New York, to over 25,000 independent fabric stores across the United States and Europe.



Deborah Schwartzman has received recognition in nationally juried exhibitions and her art quilts are installed in galleries, private collections, and institutions, including the Crozer Cancer Center in Delaware County, Pa. Her work is inspired by images found in nature, distinguished by saturated color, and enhanced by intricate machine and hand quilting. Schwartzman teaches and lectures throughout the tri-state area, and her articles on quilt design as well as images of her quilts have appeared in numerous publications. She is the Director of ArtQuilts at the Sedgwick, a nationally juried annual show in Philadelphia.