2c Wilson

Magdalene Wilson, Broken Star variation, 1925, cotton, wool and silk, overall 97 by 79 inches.

2c bendolph

Mary Lee Bendolph, blocks, strips, strings and half squares, 2005, cotton, overall 84 by 81 inches.

F.E. Green Landscapes At

Deborah Davis Fine Art

2 col green

F.E. Green, “Road’s End,” oil on panel, 20 by 24 inches.

MUST RUN 6-8

‘GEE’S BEND’ QUILTS WILL OPEN AT WALTERS JUNE 15 w/2 cuts

avv/gs set 5-30 #701243

BALTIMORE, MD. — “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt,” on view at the Walters Art Museum, June 15–August 26, features 45 original quilts created from the 1920s through 2005 by the women of Gee’s Bend, Ala.

The exhibition includes four generations of artists from this small, isolated, farming community whose quilts have been equated with bold, modernist, abstract paintings. This critically acclaimed show will present new artists with new designs and demonstrate how the influences of architecture, the environment and traditional quilting motifs form the foundation of Gee’s Bend quiltmaking.

Like many American quilters, the women of Gee’s Bend transformed the need to provide warmth and comfort for their families into innovative artworks. Combining well-known patterns with their own improvisational flair, the quilters of Gee’s Bend have created several contemporary designs unique to their community.

The second exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Tinwood Alliance, “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt” takes a fresh look at quilting traditions and expands upon the concepts presented in the successful inaugural show, “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend.” On view through 2006 at 11 museums nationwide, these quilts were seen by more than one million visitors, and inspired Michael Kimmelman, chief art critic at the New York Times, to call them “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced.”

“The marvelous quilts in this exquisite new traveling exhibition have never been presented to the public before,” said Walters Director Gary Vikan. “In the last few years, the community of artists at Gee’s Bend has begun to receive the accolades that they have deserved for decades, and we are very pleased to have their work at the Walters.”

“Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt” examines the resurgence of interest in quilting in Gee’s Bend, Ala., and documents the development of traditional quilt designs, such as housetop, bricklayer, medallions and strip quilting.

The quilts reveal how family and neighborly relationships have been crucial to sustaining the community’s quiltmaking tradition.

“The exhibition will address the family quilting legacies of master quiltmakers such as Delia Bennett, Irene Williams and Sue Willie Seltzer,” said Tosha Grantham, David C. Driskell Fellow and co-curator of the exhibition at the Walters. “The next generations continue to find new ways to build upon these foundations to create innovative works of contemporary art.”

The quilts in this exhibition are drawn from the collection of The Tinwood Alliance, a nonprofit foundation for the support of African America vernacular art founded by William Arnett.

Eight quilters will travel from Gee’s Bend to Baltimore for the opening weekend of the exhibition. On Friday, June 15, at 7 pm, the Walters will host a moderated panel discussion featuring the Gee’s Bend quilters. On Saturday, June 16, from 11 am to 4 pm, the public is invited to a free community day, including “meet the artists” and hands-on quiltmaking activities for children.

In conjunction with the special exhibition, “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilts,” the Walters presents “Linda Day Clark: The Gee’s Bend Photographs,” an exhibition of 25 photographs by Baltimore resident Linda Day Clark. This series has evolved over the past six years and includes portraits, architecture and a sensitive look at the surroundings that have inspired the quilters’ work.

The Walters Art Museum is at 600 North Charles Street. For information, 410-547-9000 or www.thewalters.org.