Every once in a while, whether sparked by a particular piece of fabric, or a deep desire for simplicity, I have made a simple quilt.

The conceptual underpinnings, imagery and references have changed over time, but one thing has remained constant. I am fascinated by the relationship between minimalist art and utilitarian quilts common in 19^th-century Quebec, Ontario, and New England. And irresistibly drawn to making a simple rectangular pieced quilt that respects the warp and weft of the fabric. I locate my love of these quilts in the works of Agnes Martin, Ad Reinhart, Ellsworth Kelly, and Mark Rothko.

The first Simple Quilt, Ground Zero (1994), followed upon a series of complex appliqué quilts that depict bombs and missiles. The second, Home (1997), would not seem out of place in an exhibition of early North American utilitarian quilts. Richly somber, The Speed of Darkness (1997) is titled after the eponymous poem by Muriel Rukeyser. Virginia (1997) was inspired by a selection of hand-woven, knitted and quilted bedcovers held by the Textile Museum of Canada, in Toronto. It was exhibited at the museum, folded into a stack of similar bedcoverings, in my installation To the Lighthouse (1998).

More recently I have begun to apply the reassuring logic of simple geometric piecing to create quilts that foreground color above all else in works that straddle the Simple Quilts and Color Play series.

Photography: Mark Van Wormer