Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers
‘PERSONAL TO POLITICAL: CELEBRATING THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS OF PAUL FONTAIN PRESS’, WHATCOM MUSEUM, WASHINGTON
6 February – 28 June 2026
Qunnie Pettway, Flying Swallows, c. 1978. Courtesy: © Qunnie Pettway / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London; photo: Stephen Pitkin/Pitkin Studio, Rockford, IL / Art Resource, NY
This national, travelling exhibition showcases the work of 17 African American artists who have reshaped the contemporary art. The exhibition focuses on the legacy of Berkeley-based printmaking studio and publisher Paulson Fontaine Press, which has supported a boundary-pushing, celebrated artists since 1997. The exhibition will include 46 fine art prints by the often-underrepresented visual artists the press uplifts, drawing from themes of history, identity, and spirituality. Quilts by Gee’s Bend Quilters Loretta, Essie Pettway, Louisa and Mary Lee Bendolph, Louisiana Bendolph are exhibited alongside works by artists such as Martin Puryear, James Marshall, Gary Simmons, Radcliffe Bailey and Lonnie Holley.