Gee’s Bend is a rural, predominantly African American community southwest of Selma, Alabama. The exhibition at the Lehman Art Gallery examines the ongoing aesthetic practice of artists rooted in the Gee’s Bend tradition. The quilters of Gee’s Bend are widely known for the commanding visual presence of their work. In 2005 four of the quilters — Louisiana Bendolph, Mary Lee Bendolph, Loretta Bennett, and Loretta Pettway — began producing limited edition etchings with Paulson Bott Press in Berkeley, California. The collaboration offered the opportunity to explore the possibilities of translating their designs in a new medium. The Gee’s Bend Tradition includes fourteen contemporary quilts, as well as eight limited edition etchings, and fabric maquettes used in the process of producing the prints. This exhibition is curated by gallery director Susan Hoeltzel.
A related exhibition, Linda Day Clark: The Gee’s Bend Photographs, features the work of Linda Day Clark, who began photographing the Gee’s Bend community in 2002 when she worked in the area as a freelance photographer for The New York Times.
