Mt. Lebanon Series Quilts at Ralph Pucci International

Here's what Wendy Goodman of New York Magazine has to say about the quilts: "She is giving the grandmotherly art of quilts a whole new spin with her subtle, spare aesthetic. As wall art or furniture dressing, I think they are sublime." Read more and watch the slideshow here.

Hope as the Anchor of the Soul: Mount Lebanon Series Quilts #1-5 Denyse's new designs, created for an exhibition at Ralph Pucci International, reference 19th century whole-cloth quilts and cold-weather petticoats in which closely placed stitching served a purpose in holding together the top and bottom fabric, and the loose fill sandwiched in between. In these new quilts, Denyse explores a modern interpretation of traditional close stitching, in delicate, wobbly striations that recall enlarged fingerprints or wood-grain.

On a 2007 pilgrimage to the Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New York, Denyse saw accidental, raw beauty in empty, decaying interiors awaiting renovation. Knocked out doorjambs, random linear gashes in walls that exposed ribbons of lath, and cream-on-cream layers of patches in the plaster, would visually translate into the minimal piecing design of her new quilts.

On View at Ralph Pucci International, 44 West 18th Street, NYC, Gallery Nine (9th Floor). 212-633-0452. www.ralphpucci.net