Stunning Textiles to Please the Modernist’s Eye, the Sophisticated Collector of African Art or the American Crafter of the Quilting Bee Tradition

Gee’s Bend is a tiny rural town in Alabama’s Black Belt, so named for the dark, rich soil found there. Around it, the Alabama River makes a loop, surrounding the town on three sides, and when there were neither ferries or bridges, it was isolated from any population center. It was the rich soil and ample water so suitable for a good cotton crop that attracted planter Joseph Gee in the early 1800’s. Ultimately, Gee moved on, leaving behind only his name, when plantation owner Mark Pettaway acquired the land in 1850 to settle a debt. He moved in from North Carolina and he brought some 100 slaves.

As time passed and the Civil War changed the economic patterns in the American South, the former slaves, now tenant farmers, formed their own small community. They worked the small parcels of land, many of which they were able to buy. They continued their quilt making, a West African tradition, through at least six generations. And as the families have evolved, so have their quilts, now recognized as striking, original, uniquely American works of art.

On Feb. 6, an exhibition of their quilts will open at the Nevada Museum of Art. The event will be celebrated with an opening talk and demonstration by two of the Gee’s Bend quilters at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 5. On Feb. 6, there will be a quilting demonstration, and at 1 p.m. there is a second event called “Telling Stories, Sharing Quilts: The Lore of the Local Quilt.” Finally, on Sunday, Feb. 7, there is a special quilters class with the women from Gee’s Bend. This event is, unfortunately for late comers, sold out.

The Gee’s Bend Quilts came to the attention of the art world in 2002 when the Tinwood Alliance of Atlanta, a non-profit organization, curated a collection of 70 quilts for an exhibit at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The event was a sensation and received international acclaim. The show moved on to 12 city museums, among them the Whitney in New York, the Corcoran in Washington D.C. and the De Young in San Francisco. “Newsweek” and “Time” reviewed it. PBS and CBS brought the quilts to the attention of their television audiences. Media critics throughout the country praised it, one comparing the quilts to works by Henri Matisse or Paul Klee. Suddenly, the impoverished folks of little Gee’s Bend were on the radar of textile collectors and art lovers throughout the country.

In 2003, some 50 women founded the Gee’s Bend Quilter’s Collective to market and sell their wares. And now, a second exhibit is on tour, sharing the skills and aesthetics of this unique art form with an even wider audience.

What can you expect when you visit the exhibit? The words “distinctive” and “bold” first come to mind. No, these aren’t like that charming comforter that lay across the foot of grandma’s bed. These quilts are explosions of color; there are geometrics, just a little off kilter; there are oddments of strips and stripes patched with neither clash nor discord; there are tidy little triangles in outrageous combinations of color and pattern. You’ll be surprised at the variety of fabrics in a single quilt. One may have cotton, corduroy, woolen twill and assorted polyesters stitched all together in a harmonious blend. In another there are circles and squares intermixed, reminiscent of, but not quite like, a 1970’s Op Art poster. In some you will recognize improvised riffs on traditional American patterns, like the Log Cabin, Star or Wedding Ring.

In 1984, the American Quilters Society was formed with 1500 charter members. Their membership now numbers many thousands who enjoy the society’s books, bimonthly magazine, workshops, shows, appraisals and appraiser certification program, instruction and marketing. But no one really knows how many quilters there actually are in the United States today. You can be sure that any within easy travel distance will be at the Nevada Museum of Art to see this exhibit. Won’t you join them with art lovers, collectors and friends of the museum for this unusual show?