The University of Mississippi Museum is presenting a 58-piece exhibition of Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry’s award-winning fine art quilts from Jan. 26 to April 16. This exhibition will cover her major works spanning over 40 years, including her first quilt— made in 1976.
Fallert-Gentry is known internationally for her quilts, which have appeared in various corporate, public and private collections all over the U.S. (including six pieces in the National Quilt Museum) and in various other countries.
According to the museum’s director, Robert Saarnio, her work’s quality and reputation were factors in her pieces being presented at Ole Miss.
(photo courtesy museum.olemiss.edu)
“Once we started looking at [Fallert-Gentry’s] body of work,” Saarnio said, “it was apparent how nationally celebrated she is. These quilts are fine art and they are beyond what most people have in their minds quilting.”
Fallert-Gentry’s art pieces are also well-known for their vibrant colors and textures, elements she developed at an early age.
“I’ve been painting since I was 10,” Fallert-Gentry said. “And I put a lot of texture in my paintings, which gave me very vibrant colors. I liked the textures, the colors and the graphic quality I could get out of the medium.”
These qualities all became part of her eye-catching style, which evokes mystery, excitement and joy within her work. All of these elements crafted into her pieces are inspired by her travels, her everyday life and her imagination.
“When you see a work of art like Caryl’s, which are very skillfully created, that moment of inspiration creates a spark,” Saarnio said.
Fallert-Gentry credited her experimentation and improvement in her craft with the development of her style. This, and her choice to continuously create pieces in different ways, have often received different reactions from audiences.
“Sometimes, when I thought I was doing something new, people will say they recognize my style. And sometimes when I combine my past ideas and put them together in a new way, people will say that my style has changed.”
Her quilts include pictorial elements and are often centered around seeing, experiencing and imagining a specific object or species. With this method, she said she wishes to depict positive energy within her work.
“I like to make art that’s uplifting and makes people cheerful and not depressing,” Fallert-Gentry said.
Saarnio said he finds these elements inspirational and encourages students to observe these positive and thought-provoking pieces.
“There is a lot of joy in these pieces,” Saarnio said. “There is nothing wrong with coming into an art museum and having a pure, joyful moment.”
This exhibition will also include Fallert-Gentry’s first quilt and her most recent, finished in 2015. Admission to view the exhibit is free.
