Applique Quilt 1935 - 1942

Mildred Bent made this Appliqué Quilt with fabric and thread; it’s a wonderful riot of botanical forms constrained within a strongly geometric framework. I love the way the texture of the fabric peeks through the appliqué, giving the surface a tactile quality. The colours, mostly muted greens and reds, with occasional bursts of blue and yellow, are applied in a very considered manner, as if each shape has been carefully chosen for its specific hue. See how Bent uses small stitches to create the elaborate floral patterns, each one like a tiny brushstroke, building up the image slowly and methodically. The central motif of a vase overflowing with flowers has tendrils reaching out, almost like a drawing made of cloth. Bent’s work reminds me of Gee’s Bend quilters, where the act of making becomes a kind of conversation, with each artist adding their own voice to the ongoing story of folk art. It resists easy interpretation, and maybe that's the point; that art should be an open-ended invitation to think, feel, and imagine.