University Museum to Feature Fine Art Quilter, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry

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On January 26, the University Museum on the Ole Miss campus opens a unique and extraordinary exhibit featuring fiber art quilter Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry. The exhibit, a stand-alone in ans of itself, coincides with YAC’s Fiber Arts Festival which opens on January 28, the same day Fallert-Gentry is scheduled for a reception and public discussion of her work.

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According to her website (www.bryerpatch.com): Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry is internationally known for her award-winning fine-art quilts, which are easily recognized by their luminous colors and illusions of light, depth and motion. Her work has appeared in hundreds of exhibitions and publications throughout the world, and can be found in museum, corporate, public, and private collections in almost every state and eight foreign countries. Fallert-Gentry’s honors include: 100 Best Quilts of the Twentieth Century (2000), 30 Most Influential Quiltmakers in the World (2002), Bernina Leadership Award (2003), International Quilt Festival Silver Star (lifetime achievement) Award, NQA Masterpiece Quilt Award (1986), IQA Master Awards for Contemporary Artistry (2002 & 2007) and Machine Artistry (1997) All American Quilter (2004) and Best of Show in 16 national and international exhibitions.

From 1986-2013, Fallert-Gentry’s shared what she learned with students in her workshops and lectures, which took her to 11 countries on five continents. She continues to share her knowledge through her exhibitions, lectures, publications, and website.
“For as long as I can remember, I have expressed myself through artwork,” Fallert-Gentry said via her website. “My formal training was primarily in design, drawing, and studio painting. After many years of painting, sewing and experimenting with other media, I discovered that fabric, as a fine art medium, best expressed my personal vision. Since 1982, I have been a quilt maker, i.e., my work is constructed from layers of fabric, stitched together with batting or other filler between the layers.”

“I love the tactile qualities of cloth, and the unlimited color range made possible by hand-dyeing and other surface design techniques. For 20 years, virtually all of my quilts begin with white, 100 percent cotton fabric. The fabric is then dyed, painted and printed to create the palette of colors and visual texture used in piecing and appliquéing my images. In 2004 I began licensing some of my original painted and dyed designs to Benartex, for use in commercially screened fabrics, and many of the quilts since then have included these fabrics. I am also making a series of quilts from images scanned and manipulated in the computer and printed directly on fabric with archival ink jet inks (digital quilts).”

“Both my geometric color studies and my more organic, curved seam abstracts are inspired by visual impressions, collected in my travels, in my everyday life and in my imagination. Although some of my quilts include pictorial images, my work is most often about seeing, experiencing and imagining, rather than pictorial representation of any specific object or species. When recognizable objects appear, they represent the emotions and flights of fantasy evoked by those objects. My intention is to focus on positive energy and depict that in my work.”

“I intend for my quilts to be seen and enjoyed by others. It is my hope that they will lift the spirits and delight the eyes of those who see them. I am constantly learning and my work evolves as I find new images in my imagination and develop the techniques to create them in cloth. As a teacher I believe that the magic of art lies in our heads and in our hearts. I love sharing my techniques with others so they can share their magic with me.”

The Fallert-Gentry fine art quilt exhibit runs from Jan. 26 through April 16 at the University Museum. An artist’s reception will be held on Thursday, January 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the museum.

The examples of Fallert-Gentry’s work below is merely a small fraction of the amazing pieces she has designed and developed. Just the tip of the iceburg.

For more information on Fallert-Gentry, visit www.bryerpatch.com.

For more information on the University Museum, its schedule and listings for upcoming exhibits, visit http://museum.olemiss.edu/ or call them at 662-915-7073.

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Jeff McVay is a staff writer and graphic designer for Hottytoddy.com. He can be reached at jeff.mcvay@hottytoddy.com.

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