Relevant Material: Contemporary Quilting in North Carolina

January 21 through March 27, 2026

Dating back to ancient Egypt, quilting has been used for both necessity and adornment. It has been a rich tradition throughout American history, from the Indigenous tribal communities and early Puritans to the contemporary quilts of today. 

Although many quilts were made for practical purposes and featured the use of recycled materials—including worn or outgrown clothing swatches, as well as repurposed feed and flour sacks—others incorporated decorative elements and elaborate fabrics for aesthetic purposes. 

Many of us may have sentimental attachments to heirloom quilts that have been passed down through family members, instantly transporting us back to a cherished memory or a feeling of comfort. These textiles are archives of our histories, representing the traditions of handiwork and serving as remnants of the times in which they were created.

Relevant Material: Contemporary Quilting in North Carolina brings together the textile works of Kimberley Pierce Cartwright, Sydney Lee, and Michelle Wilkie. Though each artist has a unique style, they all represent the continuation of a rich tradition that blurs the lines between art and craft.

~Stacy Bloom Rexrode, Curator

Kimberley Pierce Cartwright

Instagram @kimberleycartwright
kimberleypiercecartwright.com

Kimberley Pierce Cartwright is a noted art quilter and educator whose work transforms reclaimed textiles into richly layered narratives about memory, resilience, and the African American experience. Working primarily with repurposed fabrics, paint, found embellishments and ceramic figures, Cartwright creates quilts that read as intimate histories—bringing personal and communal stories into dialog through texture, color, and stitched mark-making.

Her work has been shown at the Nasher Museum at Duke University, Hayti Heritage Center and North Carolina Central University, and other regional venues. She has completed artist residencies with the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South (2022–2023) and Cassilhaus (2024), where she expanded her practice and led community projects that bridge art-making and social connection. In 2025 Cartwright served as director of Kindred Spirits: A Convergence of African American Quilters in Durham — an exhibition and convening that was profiled by the New York Times. 

Sydney Lee

Instagram @sydneyleeart
sydney-lee.com

Sydney Lee is a seventh-generation quiltmaker from Raleigh. Sydney's quilts transcend tradition, embracing a contemporary aesthetic while honoring her traditional craft heritage. 

Influenced by both traditional quilts and modernist paintings, her quilts challenge perceptions of the medium, blurring the lines between art and craft. Lee’s decorative drive steers towards an interest in the surface, where composition and color become the main focus. She has exhibited at the Hub-Robeson Gallery at Penn State University, the Cabarrus Arts Council in Cabarrus, Montgomery College in Rockville MD, New York Arts Practicum in New York, NY, and Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, MI. In August 2024, she received a full fellowship to attend the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT.
She received her MFA in Fibers from the University of Oregon and her BFA in Printmaking and Drawing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Michelle Wilkie

Instagram @ml_wilkie
mlwilkie.com

Michelle Wilkie is an artist who primarily works in textiles, embracing improvisation and minimalism.

Michelle's work has been featured in prominent venues, including the NC Museum of Art, PNW Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum, the Mint Museum, Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh and Virginia Quilt Museum. She is coming off the success of four solo exhibitions at the Triangle Community Foundation, PAAL Gallery, the Page-Walker Arts and History Center, and the Durham Art Guild, and participated in notable juried art group shows in the United States and internationally in Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

Her work was featured in multiple publications and included in the book Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century. She currently teaches and lectures around the country.