21st Annual Undergraduate Student Juried Exhibition

April 10 – 24, 2015
Mallin and Jacqueline B. Charno Galleries

JUROR
SONIE JOI RUFFIN, FASO GALLERY

Sonié Joi Ruffin is an award winning fabric artist, born, raised and educated in Joplin, MO. Sonié has led workshops and lectures on African American quilting at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, Flint Library Museum, Guldner Gallery, the Nerman Museum, Kansas City Museum, the Nelson Atkins Museum, and the American Jazz Museum.

She is a self-taught fabric artist; whose fabric art, and written stories have made her an established figure within the local and national arts community.In Ruffin’s quilt-inspired art there is an inter-stitching not just of fabric but of community and culture. Her quilts draw from a centuries old wellspring that explores humanity through the crux of the African American experience. Sonié designs and stories are distinctive; her writing shares stories from her life’s experiences, the African American culture, hardships, triumphs and courage of change. Herdesigns are improvisational and intuitive; she paints and embellishes fabric, incorporating the boldness of African fabric, mixed with hand dyed or commercial print fabrics.

Sonié is a Charlotte Street Foundation Fellow, the 2010 recipient of the Charlotte Street Visual Arts Award, Kansas Master’s 2010 /11, and the 2012 “Women to Watch: Fiber and Textiles”. Ms. Sonie Ruffin is a fabric artist. In addition, she is the Executive Director of the Faso Gallery (formerly the Frazier Gallery) on Troost Avenue.