In Studio: Heather Jones

This documentary was created for The Contemporary Dayton as part of their In Studio series. he Contemporary Dayton (The Co) is the region’s contemporary art center. Established in 1991 as Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC), a 501c3, The Co produces and presents original exhibitions and programs, art events, community partnerships, and artist opportunities. Exhibitions and education programs feature artists living and working today, both nationally and in Ohio, with an emphasis on those whose work focuses on issues of social justice. In addition to its three galleries—open to all and always free—its retail store, the CoSHOP, provides income for Ohio artists and extends The Co’s accessibility to art, from visitor engagement to educational outreach through store products, programs, and experiences.

Steeped in the history of quilt making and a vast group of anonymous or under-recognized female makers over a vast swath of time, Dayton-based artist Heather Jones’ work is unequivocally feminist. Having grown up in Ohio, on the outskirts of Appalachia, she explores the relationship between gender, place, time, and culture, and sees the practice of stitching individual pieces of fabric together as a metaphor for rebuilding. Inspired equally by the improvisational approach to the composition of the quilters of Gee’s Bend and by the minimalist abstract paintings of Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, and Robert Ryman, her monumentally draped geometric hangings or small, playful, tic-tac-toes of colored shapes tightly wrapped around wood frames have much more in common with paintings–and she refers to them as such. Her unique sensibility has garnered her national recognition and she was selected as an artist-in-residence for the internationally renowned artist, Kehinde Wiley’s inaugural class at Black Rock Senegal in 2019.