events

Gee’s Bend Quilts to be in Louisville

TWO NOTES: The date will change above for the show when I have exact information. Thanks to the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society (KHQS) for this information!

Mark your calendars now to make a trip to Louisville, Kentucky in January 2008 to view the Quilts of Gee’s Bend. These quilts have been exhibited throughout the United States since 2002, and were recently seen at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. If you did not get to see them while they were there, you will have a chance to see them in 2008 - this time in Kentucky at The Speed Art Museum.

“The Architecture of Gee’s Bend Quilts” features the brilliant, bold quilts created in the tewntieth century by a group of women who live in the small, isolated African-American community oof Gee’s Bend in soutwestern Alabama. The seventy quilts in the exhibition, created by forty-two women spanning four generations, provide a fascinating look at the work of twentieth-century artists who lived and worked in solitude.

Gee’s Bend is located on a sliver of land five miles long and eight miles wide, a virtual island surrounded by a bend in the Alabama River. Isolated geographically, the women in the community created quilts from whatever materials were available, in patterns of their own imaginative design.

The dynamic abstract quilts’ innovative patters and brilliant use of line and color demonstrate a highly developed talent of structure and design. Unlike abstract painters, however, the Gee’s Bend women created their quilts out of necessity and practical considerations rather than a conscious attempt to make art. Their focus on everyday concerns, such as salvaging discarded fabric, recycling old clothing, and finding ways to keep thier families warm and comfortable, makes the extraordinary aesthetic appeal of their quilts even more remarkable.

The Speed Art Museum is located at 2035 South Third Street, Louisville, Kentucky. Visit the site for more information about hours, ticket prices, and directions.

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