The Quilts of Holley Junker:
‘Feast of Color’ at Chandler

One of Holley Junker's spectacular quilts on display at the Chandler Gallery.

Pointillism, impressionism, cubism, trompe l’oeil, call them what you will, the quilts of Holley Junker have made their way to the Chandler Gallery in Randolph and are a feast of color, depth, texture and theme. The show runs through February 28 with a reception this Saturday, Feb 2 from 5-7.

Junker, who died in 2005, never actually lived in Randolph, but her ties are strong. Her son Chris, who died last year, and daughter-in-law Robin, have had an active presence in the Randolph community for a number of years, and her husband, Rennie, now lives in Randolph. The quilts on display are from his personal collection.

"It is very special that our two grandchildren can walk in, at least the four-year-old can, and see their grandmother’s work up on the gallery walls," Rennie says. Among his favorites is "Blueprints," a very personal piece she created with the material of her grandmother’s wedding dress superimposed with transfers of the blueprints of a friend’s home.

Junker used a number of traditional and non-traditional methods in creating her pieces. Small frayed patches, overlapping circles, swatches of phototransfers, embroidery, beadwork and machine sewing come together to produce these compositions of amazing skill and detail, "an investigation of light and texture" as Junker herself described them in an artist statement from 1993.

A Fiberarts article from the same year, said of Junker, "Only on close examination of the surface does the audience realize the depth and skill of this artist. It is then that the intricate stitching and attention to details are appreciated."

Junker’s work was commissioned by the federal courthouse in Sacramento, and the University of California at Davis, among others, and she was shown in Paris and Japan, garnering numerous awards along the way.

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