The Quilts of Gee's Bend

See the quilts The New York Times called “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced,” when this widely hailed exhibition stops in Boston on its nationwide tour.

“The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” features more than sixty quilts made between 1930 and 2000 by four generations of quilt makers, resulting in a body of work that is bold, colorful, and unique.

What gives the quilts of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, their particular power? One look gives you a sense of their originality and graphic impact. The Gee’s Bend quilters inventively combine materials to form bold, abstract compositions that reveal a genius for color and geometry. These quilts, sometimes pieced from worn clothing, were originally made for practical use, often piled in layers on beds for warmth.

Learn about the quilters and their isolated river-bend community--formerly part of the Pettway Plantation--and gain a sense of the unusually cohesive artistic tradition, shared by many generations of African American women, that lies behind each scrap of fabric and boldly assembled pattern. A videotape on view in the gallery features interviews with several of the artists and provides a rich context for the quilts on display.