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Maria Shell, Everything All at Once (detail), 2019. Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 60 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist. Photography by Chris Arend.
Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, Maria Shell’s vibrant, contemporary quilts push the boundaries of the traditional gridded format of the American quilt.
Manipulating the classical components of traditional bedcovers to create surprising combinations of pattern, repetition, and color, Shell notes that most of her work begins with improvising on the traditional quilt block: “Limiting the structure of my work to the pieced quilt has allowed me to go deep into color and print. How do I get color to vibrate? How can I stitch these elements together so that the viewer sees not only hundreds of scraps of fabric but also the sum—the whole as greater than its parts? What would happen if a traditional bed quilt ate a healthy dose of psychedelic mushrooms? Those are the questions I am trying to answer.”
This online exhibition is the precursor to Maria Shell: Off the Grid, an exhibition featuring fourteen works by Shell created between 2011 and 2022 on view in the Dana-Spencer Textile Galleries at Hat and Fragrance from May 15–October 16, 2022.
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
Mirror Ball, 2017
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 60 x 60 in.
Courtesy of the artist
“I call myself a bit maker. I stitch small scraps into larger compositions. Almost all of my quilts are inspired by the remains of other quilts. Mirror Ball is perhaps the best example of this. It is all my bits stitched together. I love it when the leftovers from one quilt become the fodder for the next. It is compost quilting. For me, to make something beautiful out of remnants is magical and satisfying.”
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
Boulevard, 2011
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 32 x 48 in.
Courtesy of the artist
“After college, I moved to Kansas City, Missouri, a beautiful city with fountains, pedestrian walk ways, and lovely boulevards. This quilt is named for Ward Parkway, a beautiful street that runs through city.”
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
LITE BRITE, 2014
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton
Courtesy of the artist
“I have lived in Alaska for 26 years, and the beauty of my natural surroundings still inspires me every day. We own an off-the-grid cabin in McCarthy, Alaska. You may have heard of the reality television show called Edge of Alaska. That show is filmed in McCarthy, and I always tell people: the cinematography is REAL, nothing else is. When we visit in the spring time, if we are lucky, the Northern Lights will come out. This quilt is inspired by the colors of those lights and how they streak across the dark night sky.”
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
Mosh Pit @ the Golden, 2018
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 50 x 50 in.
Courtesy of the artist
“We own a small 1920s miner’s cabin in the heart of the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. We heat our home with wood, haul water, and use the sun for our energy. Despite the absolute remoteness of our wilderness home, there is bar down the street where truly amazing bands from all over the United States come to play. Occasionally, this results in a Mosh Pit. The first time I witnessed this, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It is truly surreal to be surrounded by the beauty of the Wrangell Mountains while at the same time seeing dozens of your neighbors hurl themselves at each other while The Grannies screech the lyrics to their music. There is no better place on earth to be.”
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
Everything All at Once, 2019
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 60 x 60 in.
Courtesy of the artist
“Every quilt I have made has taught me something about myself, my craft, and my art. They are building blocks—bits of information that have lead me to the exact spot on the map where I currently stand. Without all of the other previous quilts, Everything All at Once could not have been made, and now that it has been, I can’t wait to see what will happen next.”
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
AHOY!, 2021
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 37 x 42 in.
Courtesy of the artist
“I am often asked why we moved from Kansas to Alaska, and my short answer is that I married a sailor and there isn’t a lot of water in Kansas. Nautical themes are a popular one around our house, and this palette makes me think regatta!”
Maria Shell (Anchorage, Alaska, b. 1966- )
Jökulhlaup, 2021
Vintage, contemporary, and hand-dyed cotton, 40 x 30 in.
Courtesy of the artist
“A Jökulhlaup (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈjœːkʏl̥øip]) is a type of glacial outburst flood. In McCarthy, Alaska, where our family spends our summers, we live near active glaciers. A favorite annual event in our community is celebrating Hidden Creek Lake releasing its waters during the spring. This means that our town has its very own personal Jökulhlaup every year.”