Some 651 red and white qulits of inifinite variety are on display at Park Ave. Armory (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
Through March 30, free, 11:00 am – 5:00 or 7:00 pm
347-463-5143
www.armoryonpark.org
www.folkartmuseum.org
infinite variety slideshow
Joanna Semel Rose wanted something very simple for her eightieth birthday: to see her collection of 651 red and white quilts together, all in one space. Her husband, Daniel, helped make that happen, resulting in the stunning exhibition “Infinite Variety,” on view for free at the Park Ave. Armory through Wednesday. Curated by Elizabeth V. Warren and held in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum’s “Year of the Quilt” celebration, the quilts are hung throughout the massive fifty-five-thousand-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, arranged in swirling silo-shaped cylinders you can walk in and laid out in a curved display near the back wall (where the makeshift Butterfield Market is serving red velvet cupcakes and other treats). You don’t have to be a quilt maker or quilt lover to be dazzled by the visual splendor, the myriad red and white designs coming at you from all directions, the patterns luring you in like endless eye candy, at times reminiscent of international flags with no political agenda. Rose, who considers herself a treasure hunter, not a collector, also thinks of the exhibition as a present for New York City, although there are plans to take it on the road. Named after a line from William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety”), the exhibit is part of an anticipated gift to the American Folk Art Museum by the philanthropic Roses, whose family has their names attached to such spaces as the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Rehearsal Studio and Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center. “Infinite Variety” is a must-see for New Yorkers of all ages; in addition, the American Folk Art Museum currently has on view “Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum” at its 45 West 53rd St. location and “Super Stars: Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum” at the 2 Lincoln Square branch. (Curator Warren will be giving a lecture on Sunday at 2:00 at the Armory, “Infinite Variety: A History of Red and White Quilts,” followed by a book signing; tickets are $15-$20.)