Take a look at themodernquiltguild.com. Here is their definition of modern quilts:
Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter to quilter as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each quilter’s personality and personal style, and as the movement has grown, a modern quilt aesthetic, a set of principles that define and guide the movement, is beginning to emerge.
Modern quilts and quilters:
» Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts
» Use asymmetry in quilt design
» Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs
» Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks
» Embrace simplicity and minimalism
» Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure
» Incorporate increased use of negative space
» Are inspired by modern art and architecture
» Frequently use improvisational piecing
» Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints
» Often use gray and white as neutrals
» Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics
» Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines
Modern quilting has its roots in rebellion, in our desire to do something different, but simultaneously its feet are firmly planted in the field of tradition. Modern quilting is our response to what has come before. We are quilters first, modern quilters second. There are however, characteristics that set modern quilters apart from our traditional and art quilting friends.