University Museum Opens Fine Art Quilt Exhibit

Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry set for artist lecture Jan. 28

'Skylights' is one of the quilts included in 'Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry: 40 Years of Color, Light & Motion' at the University Museum.

‘Skylights’ is one of the quilts included in ‘Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry: 40 Years of Color, Light & Motion’ at the University Museum.

OXFORD, Miss. – A collection of fine art quilts spanning a 40-year career by acclaimed artist Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry are on display at the University of Mississippi Museum through April 16.

“Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry: 40 Years of Color, Light, & Motion” is a 54-quilt exhibit that includes Fallert-Gentry’s first quilt from 1976 and retrospective pieces from the 1980s, ’90s and 2000s.

Fallert-Gentry is internationally recognized for her award-winning, fine art quilts. She is best known for her organic, curved seam designs, her noted use of color and her illusions of light, depth and motion. Her attention to detail has earned her a reputation for fine craftsmanship as well as stunning designs.

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.

The artist will be on hand for an opening reception and artist lecture from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 28) that coincides with the Sixth Annual Fiber Arts Festival opening evening. In her talk, Fallert-Gentry plans to introduce the use of the quilted sandwich as an art medium and show dozens of examples that cover a wide range of styles.

She will also share information on her personal processes, techniques and history to help viewers understand and enjoy the exhibition. After the lecture, Fallert-Gentry will conduct a Q&A session in the gallery where the quilts are on display.

Born in 1947 in Elgin, Illinois, Fallert-Gentry graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in 1969. She also studied art at Illinois State University, College of DuPage and University of Wisconsin. Fallert-Gentry was a lifelong resident of northern Illinois until 2005, when she relocated to Paducah, Kentucky. There she opened the Bryerpatch Studio gallery and workshop center in Paducah’s historic Lower Town Arts District.

In 2013, Fallert-Gentry married Dr. Ron Gentry and set up a second working studio in Port Townsend, Washington, where she completed many of the quilts featured in this exhibit. In 2014, she sold her Paducah studio and relocated full time to Port Townsend where she continues to make new work in her studio overlooking Puget Sound and the snow-capped Cascades.

“My studio overlooks Puget Sound, several islands and the snow-capped Cascades, and every time I look out I see something a little different,” Fallert-Gentry said. “Since I seldom make landscape quilts, these inspirations find their way into my work in more subtle ways. Four of the pieces I have finished since moving to Washington were about reflections in the water and the patterns I see on the surface of the water as the tide flows in and out of Port Townsend Bay.”

From 1986 to 2013 Fallert-Gentry shared her knowledge with students through her workshops and lectures in 11 countries on five continents. She continues to share her mastery, knowledge and experiences through her exhibitions, lectures, publications and website.

“I find some inspiration everywhere I go,” she said. “In Japan, I’m inspired by the esthetics, the beautiful arrangements of space in everything from gardens and architecture to the fabrics, food and the way products are displayed in the shops. In South Africa, I was inspired by the wild animals and birds, and in Australia, the sinuous shapes in the rainforest and the birds.”

The University Museum is at the intersection of University Avenue and Fifth Street. Hours for the museum are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. For more information on upcoming exhibitions and events, visit http://www.museum.olemiss.edu and follow the museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.