My Way: A Gathering

Marlene Bennett Jones (b.1947) is the daughter of Agatha P. Bennett and grand-daughter of Delia Bennett. Like most young girls growing up in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, Marlene learned to pieces and quilt from her mother and other female relatives in the community. After many years working in the electronics industry for LockheedMartin and Raytheon as an electronic technician, Marlene returned to making and quilting when her mother became ill in the early 2000’s. When both parents passed, Marlene used all of their clothes to make over 20 heirlooms quilts for her siblings and family members. Marlene is one the oldest Gee’s Bend quilters to continue piecing and and quilting quilts. Her quilts has been featured in museums, art galleries, and fashion runways both in the U.S. and Europe.

Tau Lewis (b. 1993, Toronto Canada) was most recently on exhibition at The 59th Venice Biennale and at 52 Walker, New York, NY. She has exhibited in several museums and institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON; MoMA PS1, New York, NY; New Museum, New York, NY; Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, UK; College Art Galleries, Saskatoon, SK; and elsewhere. Lewis’s work has been acquired to the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Library Collection, New York, NY; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Miami, FL; The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec; among others. Lewis currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Essie Bendolph Pettway (born 1956), the only daughter of Mary Lee Bendolph, began quilting at the age of eight. Although trained by her mother, Essie developed a distinctive style and was producing accomplished quilts while still in her teens. She has worked for many years making uniforms for the armed forces. Her highly practiced sewing skills enable her to tackle complex quilt patterns and introduce subtle optical effects into them. Over the years, she also has created a number of quilts that incorporate camouflage patterns from her day job. Essie is among the last women in Gee’s Bend to continue practicing her craft.

Rachel Eulena Williams has developed a unique visual language operating on the threshold of painting and sculpture. A powerful duality runs throughout Williams’ practice. It can be seen in the use of conventional materials to create works that both challenge and transcend genres; in the interplay between two and three dimensions; in the contradiction between frugality and opulence (humble materials versus luminous colour); and the tension between optimism and sorrow. Williams’ working methods also relate to practices centered around community and sustainability, Rachel Eulena Williams (b. 1991, Miami, Florida, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a BFA from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, also in New York.

Thyrza Nichols Goodeve is a writer, editor, and educator who lives in Brooklyn Heights. She was Senior Art Editor at the Rail from 2017 to 2019 and is currently an Editor-at-Large.