Tara Faughnan | Mr X Stitch

The beauty of textiles is the huge variation you see within the umbrella of all its different genres. Over the next few months I’ll be sharing some of my favourite artists from different mediums. First up is quilting. After embroidery, and indeed cross stitch, quilting diversity is often the entry point into textiles for many. Combining colour, pattern, technique and ideas creates an infinite amount of options with a tactile result that can be thrown over a bed or sofa or hung on the wall. Here are four of my current favourite quilters. Luke Haynes, Japanese Series Luke Haynes’ quilts are constantly evolving but it’s his juxtaposition of more traditional style pattern with contemporary portraits that makes his work stand out from the crowd. He manages to capture the vulnerability within his subjects while offering a snapshot of the sensibilities and fashions of today. Luke Haynes, Amy Winehouse Sara Impey is one of the reasons I started Textile Curator. Seeing one of her quilts in the Shipley Gallery in Gateshead with her combination of subtle colours and neat poetic text left me wondering why more people don’t know about and appreciate textiles. Sara Impey, Fighting Talk Each of Sara’s quilts tend to depict one theme and portray it in a clever, yet quiet way so the more time you spend with the quilts, the more they reveal. Sara Impey, Project Fear: Black Hole Heavy metal and street inspired quilter Ben Venom must be one of the hardest working artists around. He creates a huge amount of quilts that have dramatically shaken textiles out of people’s traditional old fashioned preconceptions. Ben Venom, War Machine When I interviewed him he described his work as a collision, combining disparate elements of culture. Be sure to check out Jamie’s recent interview with Ben Venom here. Ben Venom, Double Tiger For anyone who either quilts or has attempted quilting, the complexity and stunning use of pattern and colour of Tara Faughuan is breathtaking. Whether they are more simple patterns such as Untitled (above) or more complex designs like Railroad Crossing (below), her impeccable attention to detail shows what can be achieved by variations on pattern. Helen Adams founded www.textilecurator.com to help wake up the world to contemporary Textile art. She posts every Monday for an inspirational start to your week. She is also a freelance stylist and journalist and is currently living in Malaysia.