In Jesse Krimes’s quilts, absence is the subject of the intimate domestic scenes he stitches together from textile and clothing scraps. A child’s room rendered in soft yellows and browns in Florence feels at once deeply private and instantly recognizable, with a rocking horse, a crib, and toys scattered across a patterned rug. But as in the rest of his Elegy Quilts series, empty space in the composition draws attention to what is lost when incarceration takes someone away from home.
He debuted his newest piece, Riverside, alongside a selection from the series in Jesse Krimes: Elegy Quilts, on view at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia through November 1. In partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, a mural of the new quilt was also installed in the Spring Arts District in the Callowhill neighborhood in early June.
Krimes, who himself was incarcerated for six years, has extensively collaborated with incarcerated individuals serving long sentences, offering dignity and dimension to people in the dehumanizing carceral system. Riverside evolved out of his first collaboration with graduates of the Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Restorative Justice reentry program, which supports people returning to their communities after incarceration through arts education, personal and professional development, and paid work in public arts projects.
In a series of workshops, Krimes encouraged participants to envision possibilities for their future after their release from prison and to describe their ideal home in collages using images of furniture, an animal, and a personal object. The resulting collages hint at optimism: as a lion struts across kitchen counters, a koala nestles into a couch, and an eagle perches atop a sleek lounge chair.
Florence, 2021, antique quilt, used clothing collected from incarcerated people, assorted textiles, 89 x 65.5 in.
