An Exhibition of Quilts by Ruby Nishio

Award winning quilt artist, Ruby Nishio, approaches her quilt making with intensity and seemingly boundless energy in her first one-person exhibition at Future Studio Gallery in Los Angeles. Vibrant colors, striking contrasts, impeccable craftsmanship and exquisite hand quilting distinguish her work.

Nishio pulls her iconography from personal interests, such as gardening and traveling, as well as from life around her. She stitches fabric pieces together that form repetitive patterns that are then hand quilted. One quilt, Trip Around the World, 1998, includes 2193 two-inch squares of flowered fabrics where the stitched edges of each piece lose their sharpness and blend with the pieces next to each other forming an impressionist patterned garden. In New York, New York, 2005, echoes of the Statue of Liberty are depicted in the patterns, while the colors and fabrics are reminiscent of Broadway by way of the Ginza.

Sewing for over 70 years, Nishio transitioned to quilt making in 1992 after years of custom dress making and also dabbling in knitting, tatting, crocheting and embroidery. Her years of experience in these multi-disciplines are now being integrated and incorporated in her quilts. Just as her interest in dressmaking took her from making her own simple clothes to producing custom wedding gowns, Nishio’s current interest is bringing her closer to the fine art of quilt making.

Gallery Opening is part of NELAart.com’s Second Saturday Gallery Night.