I'm late to the game, but weighing in. For me, "modern" quilts are fine. I've seen some I like, some I dislike, just like all quilting. And I also saw "modern" quilts long before the term "modern" came about. Most modern quilts, to me, are basically art quilts, some are well done, some aren't so much.
I also love modern quilters. Anyone who enjoys cotton is my friend. ;-).
What I'm not fond of is the labeling in general and specifically of the "modern movement". I'm hard pressed to think of any quilting style that has been so well labeled and so ORGANIZED. And honestly, I think the excellent organization is driven by industry. The "Modern Quilt Guild" is sponsored by Bernina, Riley Blake (which is owned by Coats, BTW), and some other big names. Without that backing, I don't think there would be a "movement". It's essentially a viral marketing campaign.
I also think the name "modern" is unfortunate. It's a bit polarizing because it implies that quilts that aren't "modern" are old fashioned. No wonder the "traditionalists" sometimes get offended. Leaders of the "modern movement" claim that their organization arose out of not being brought into the fold of traditional quilters. If so, then why devise such a polarizing and exclusive name?
Most of my quilts are made with ridiculously bright colors, and sometimes quite a bit of white space. I always say, I pretty much focus on the crayola 12 pack (yes, just the 12 pack, not even the 24 pack, let alone the extended packs! LOL). That said, while I own many hundreds of yards of fabric, I probably own about 10 yards of grey. Grey has never been a color of quilty energy for me. And I have too much fabric to buy more than a few pieces of the new fabrics, besides, I'm not all that much into the prints. They seem very 70's-ish to me, an era whose style I didn't love. In the truest sense, modern quilting is something I most likely will never do. So I'm a modern/traditional/contemporist? So there it is.
That'll be 2 cents, please ;-)