Presented by Marin Hanson of the International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln as part of the "Textile Talks" series.
In 1975-1976, expanded versions of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s “Abstract Design in American Quilts” traveled to Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. Japan was in the midst of robust economic growth, and leisure time pursuits such as needlework were being promoted in both the governmental and private sectors. Combined with Japan’s longstanding textile traditions and a general receptivity to American cultural influence, these phenomena led to an enthusiastic embrace of quiltmaking, which has continued in Japan to this day. The artists featured in “Journey to Japan” were some of the earliest to adopt American style quiltmaking and are among the most respected Japanese quilt artists and teachers today. Each of them has created a new work for the exhibition inspired by one of the original pieces in “Abstract Design in American Quilts.”