Debra Milkovich

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Contemporary quilts, Embroidery, Mixed media, Modern quilts, Multi-fiber art
2023
Artist's country: United States

Debra Milkovich is an art quilter, mother to four girls, military spouse, and collector of weird vintage treasures. Early in life, she dreamed of becoming an artist but ultimately chose a steadier path by earning a doctorate in pharmacy.

Debra made her first quilt in 2017, with the encouragement of her friend Emi. For her second quilt, she participated in the National Quilt Museum’s first Block of the Month programme. This event exposed participants to a wide variety of techniques while allowing a great deal of artistic freedom. Her quilt was one of eleven selected to hang at the museum in 2019.

The experience set her on a path of deep exploration into the world of art quilts, with no preconceived ideas of what quilts should or should not be. In 2020 her mother became terminally ill, and she channelled her fear, anxiety, and sorrow into her quilting. During this time, Debra designed her first full quilt, “Shark Bite,” which won 1st Place in the Fabric Challenge category at QuiltCon Together 2021. This quilt also won a Best in Show award in The Grace Quilting Company’s Fall Festival 2022.

Static

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines

Debra Milkovich is a maximalist by nature, and (to her delight) her style has been described as “visually exhausting”. Her contemporary exhibition is full of saturated colours, 3D effects, sharp angles, and iconic imagery pulled from pop-culture nostalgia with a riotous edge. She challenges the wholesome image of quilting by bypassing tradition and restraint in favour of tongue-in-cheek porn and punk rock themes. These pieces showcase a wide variety of conventional techniques with innovative applications, as seen in the painted woven disco ball and anaglyph (red/blue) 3D “XXX” quilt. Her bold designs pull you in from a distance but offer an even more engaging experience up close as you take in her attention to detail.

Debra Milkovich’s work seen by Carrie Bloomston, Author, artist and textile designer.

“Sex, disco, grunge, pop, memory, personal narrative, revolution, alternative reality–these are the first few words I feel when I recall the intensely vibrant quilts/artworks of Debra Milkovich. Her work buzzes with the aliveness of seeing your favourite band in a dirty rock bar under an overpass. Her quilts, electric and cool, remind us that quilting has fingers in high art. But Debra’s work avoids the intellectual dislocation and pretension prevalent in the art world as it sticks with gut-level emotion and honesty. The iconography, symbols, and colours take me back to making mixed cassette tapes while being solidly in the NOW. They vibrate with urgent energy. Even Debra’s use of XXX neon signs brings the seedy qualities of the Vegas strip into the world of quilting which feels like a revolution. I am constantly dazzled by Debra’s juxtaposition of the quilting medium with her fresh, intelligent, and contemporary perspective.”