Piece Together

Using mostly hand-torn remnants of recycled clothing, Mary Lee Bendolph has created more than 150 quilts in her lifetime. Her improvisational style and bold adaptations of traditional African American quilting designs earned her a place in the watershed touring exhibitions The Quilts of Gee’s Bend (2002) and The Architecture of the Quilt (2006) and an NEA National Heritage Fellowship. Examining works from five decades, Piece Together: The Quilts of Mary Lee Bendolph is her first solo exhibition. The richly-illustrated, 80-page exhibition catalogue includes contributions from Mount Holyoke and Swarthmore College faculty in Sociology, Africana Studies, Economics, and English, an interview with the artist's son, Rubin Bendolph Jr., a biographical overview, and a detailed study of Bendolph's inspirations, creative processes, and evolving priorities.

Piece Together: The Quilts of Mary Lee Bendolph was made possible by a grant from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation and the gifts of individual donors in support of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum's Diverse Voices Initiative. The exhibition catalogue was organized by the List Gallery, Swarthmore College and made possible by the William J. Cooper Foundation.