“On My Mind: CONSTRUCTIONS/RIFFS/DRAWINGS/MONOPRINTS,” a solo exhibition by Ohio artist Nancy Crow, opens Friday at the Kent State University Museum.

Crow has been internationally recognized in contemporary quiltmaking and fiber arts since the 1970s. She continues to develop innovative techniques that provide a range of expressive imagery.

According to curator Sara Hume, “Nancy Crow has been committed throughout her career to demonstrating that quiltmaking is an art form that should be considered on the same level as painting or sculpture. Her techniques are masterful, and the color and rhythm of the works is daring and engrossing.

Featuring 30 large-scale works, the exhibition presents a retrospective of the last two decades of Crow’s work. Having lived on a farm for over 40 years, owning first 100 acres and now 218 acres, she has borne witness to ongoing change through human-caused destruction, watching how nature struggles to survive. She has seen the rapid disappearance of historic timber frame barns and the intrusion of railroads, roads and housing into the land once held as farms. On the other hand, she has watched growth and regeneration in her fields as well as the majesty of the trees and crops.

The four series of works included in the exhibition draw from her perspective in rural Ohio. For instance, RIFFS are about railroads, roads and housing developments with track homes that are increasingly encroaching on farm land. DRAWINGS are influenced by observations of fields, and MONOPRINTS are drawings based on reflections on trees and their intersecting branches.

According to Crow, “My quilts tell stories, but I prefer each speaks for itself with no explanation while expressing profound figure/ground tension as part of its energy.”

The work will be on display through Dec. 15 at the museum, 515 Hilltop Drive, Kent. An opening reception and artist talk is scheduled at 5 p.m. today.

Museum hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children ages 5 to 18. The museum is free for children under 5 and for those with a Kent State ID. Sunday admission is free for all ages. For more information, call 330-672-3450 or visit www.kent.edu/museum.