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Quilts

Kyra E. Hicks stitched her first quilt while a grad student at the University of Michigan. She is self-taught and explores political, religious, family and romantic themes. Kyra’s quilts have been included in 40+ group exhibitions. Venues have included the American Craft Museum in New York, the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery in Washington DC, and the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. Her quilts are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York and Michigan State University Museum.

I Count!, a quilt by Kyra E. Hicks
Swann Galleries in New York auctioned I Count!, a quilt by Kyra E. Hicks. The quilt was acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Black Barbie Quilt (1996) by Kyra E. Hicks Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY collection
Black Barbie Quilt (1996) by Kyra E. Hicks
Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY collection
Photo credit: Richard Walker

Selected Exhibitions included
the Black Barbie Quilt

“Prismatic Beauty: American People and American Art,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, 2020. Exhibit video. (See 5:07 second mark). Black Barbie quilt included along with works by Sister Gertrude Morgan and Clementine Hunter.

“American Quilts: Sewn Stories,” Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York, 2017. Exhibit promotional video. (See 10 second mark of 30 second video). Black Barbie quilt included with works by Faith Ringgold, Luke Haynes and others.

“American Memory: Recalling the Past in Folk Art,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 2012 – August 1, 2013.

“Unfolding Stories: Culture and Tradition in American Quilts,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, 2011. Jacqueline M. Atkins, curator.

“Picturing Women: American Art from the Permanent Collections,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, 2010.

“Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art,” Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, 2008. Artist works included Hicks, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Rockwell, Betye Saar, Wadsworth A. Jarrell, Romare Bearden, Lorna Simpson, Faith Ringgold and others. Catalog published.

“Talking Quilts,” American Folk Art Museum, NY, 2004. Curator Stacy C. Hollander presented about 20 quilts, dating from 1843 to 1998. Black Barbie quilt and quilts by Sarah Mary Taylor and Jessie B. Telfair were included.

“Patterns of Life: African American Culture Explored Through Quilts,” Bruce Watkins Cultural Center, Kansas City, MO, 1997.