“Olson, Stampfli, & Sunderman,” May 2 through June 30

Friday, May 2, through Monday, June 30

Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery, 2200 69th Avenue, Moline IL

Highlighting the importance of sustainability in the arts and encouraging their audience to see the beauty of Earth’s resources and ecosystem, a trio of Illinois and Iowa talents enjoy a collective exhibition at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery from May 2 through June 30, Olson, Stampfli, & Sunderman showcasing a beautiful assemblage of quilted art by Lindsay Olson and Jessie Stampfli and sculpture by Robert Sunderman.

Chicago-based artist Lindsay Olson combines science and art to create illustrative quilted artworks of plankton. Using antique silk kimonos, cottons, beading, and embroidery, Olson’s work makes visible the unsung heroes of the sea as the base of the entire ocean’s food chain. As the artist has stated, “[This] project grew out of a three trip aboard the R.V. Endeavor studying ocean acoustics with the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Acoustics Research and Education.” Olson is the first fine artist in residence for the Wetlands Initiative.

Jessie Stampfli of Bartlett, Illinois, quilts as a means of comfort. Her work utilizes repurposed textiles from curtains to upholstery to worn clothing. After composing her pieces, she hand-quilts her work with a variety of stitches to add texture. The results are modern yet approachable, and Stampfli means to evoke a strong sense of emotion and familiarity with each quilt she creates. She describes her work as “Handcraft married to inspiring modern design, softening your environment and welcoming you home."

Robert Sunderman is a sculptor from Ames, Iowa. He begins with a base of metal or found materials assembled into a unique composition and adds finishing touches of paint or nature-made objects. His body of work is earthy and eclectic, and Sunderman thinks of his sculptures as “relics” with a message meant for today’s society, saying, “We can live in harmony with nature and not dominate it. We can live within it as part of the cycle of our world. We can be sustainable.”

The Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery is located opposite the airport's gift shop and restaurant, there is a $1 fee for parking, and more information on the Olson, Stampfli, & Sunderman exhibit on display from May 2 through June 30 is available by calling (309)793-1213 and visiting QuadCityArts.com.