Candy Box

Virginia R. Harris, Candy Box, 1994, machine pieced and quilted cotton and metallic thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist in honor of Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Founder of the Women of Color Quilters' Network, 2002.16, © 1994, Virginia R. Harris
Copied Virginia R. Harris, Candy Box, 1994, machine pieced and quilted cotton and metallic thread, 78 3⁄8 x 77 7⁄8 in. (199.0 x 197.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist in honor of Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Founder of the Women of Color Quilters’ Network, 2002.16, © 1994, Virginia R. Harris

Artwork Details

Title
Candy Box
Artist
Date
1994
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
78 3⁄8 x 77 7⁄8 in. (199.0 x 197.8 cm)
Copyright
© 1994, Virginia R. Harris
Credit Line
Gift of the artist in honor of Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Founder of the Women of Color Quilters’ Network
Mediums
Mediums Description
machine pieced and quilted cotton and metallic thread
Classifications
Object Number
2002.16
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2002.16

Artwork Description

Trained as a chemist, Harris is a self-taught quilter whose work addresses environmental justice, educational policy, current events, and the Black experience in the United States. She has described her quilts as art canvases, using the fabric as her palette and various stitches as her brush strokes. The design of kaleidoscopic, fractured colors in Candy Box is based on an origami form of the same name that Harris replicated in fabric.  While searching for innovative quilt block patterns, Harris found endless possibilities in the art of origami. This quilt speaks to cultures coming together, combining fabric from Japanese kimonos with red, black, and green fabrics representing the Pan-African flag, a symbol of Black liberation and the people of the African diaspora.