Artist Quote: “You have a responsibility to educate your people, you have a responsibility to have your people shown in a positive light.” Achievements: Her work is part of the permanent collections in many galleries and museums, including Art Institute of Chicago, Toledo Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 2019, she was a finalist for the New York Museum of Art and Design's Burke Prize. | About the Artist: Butler earned her BFA at Howard University, Washington, DC, and her MA in arts education at Montclair State University, New Jersey. Trained as a painter, she shifted to quiltmaking during her graduate studies, when she made a quilt in honor of her grandmother. About the Artwork: Butler creates arresting portraits—composed entirely of vibrantly colored and patterned fabrics. Butler will spend about 200 hours creating a quilt. Many of the works are based on archival photos from the 1930s and 40s. She strategically selects fabrics, using the history or imagery of the prints to reinforce the stories she wants to communicate in each quilt. Layering materials and meanings, Butler invites viewers to look closely and think deeply about the potential and purposes of portraiture. |
Sources:
https://www.artic.edu/artists/116361/bisa-butler
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/15/1025950962/black-lives-are-celebrated-in-bisa-butlers-extraordinary-technicolor-quilts
https://www.artic.edu/artists/116361/bisa-butler
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/15/1025950962/black-lives-are-celebrated-in-bisa-butlers-extraordinary-technicolor-quilts