Gee's Bend: Shared Legacy

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Sept. 17, 2022–Sept. 4, 2023

Erburu Gallery 9

 

This focused installation of prints made by members of Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers’ Collective from Alabama showcases their unique collaboration with a local printer, using new techniques to capture the complexities of their designs. In addition to the prints on display, each installment will also exhibit one of two quilts by Mary Lee Bendolph. 

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Gee’s Bend, Alabama is home to one of the most important African American quilt-making traditions in the United States. Quilting began there by the 19th century, when enslaved women sewed quilts for themselves and their families. As quilters passed down memory, skill, and meaning from generation to generation, they developed both individual and collective artistic practices unique to the community. Their works, which have been shown widely in museums over the past two decades, are celebrated for their soft geometries, bold juxtapositions of color, and inventive use of materials.

 

All images are © Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens, 2022