There is a great exhibit that has been traveling around the country, museums, churches, community houses, for the past several years – “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend”. In 2010 it will visit the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno.
The quilts were sewn by the women of a small Alabama community. Beginning more than 60 years ago, they created works of art out of worn dresses, old jeans, and scraps of cloth. They may have been made for warmth, but their beauty couldn’t help but be noticed and appreciated.
Some have described them as primitive, but when the quilts are lined up on a wall, it becomes apparent that the women pored so much of themselves into the work and took such pride in their craft, the art is stunning. The use of color, shapes and a loving attention to pattern and design, make these quilts very sophisticated in their simplicity.
Go see them if you get the chance.
“A Survey of Gee’s Bend Quilts” – February 06, 2010 – April 11, 2010
Nevada Museum of Art
Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts
160 West Liberty Street, Reno NV
(Images: “Medallion”, Flora Moore, 1970 and quilt by Loretta Pettaway, 1960)