The Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens will host the opening of “Seams to Be: New Approaches to Textile Techniques” on October 2. The exhibition features the work of 13 Georgia artists who employ a variety of textile methods, including beadwork, quilting, weaving, rug hooking, and broom-making. The show highlights how traditional fiber art techniques can be used in innovative ways.
Among the artists featured are Adah Bennion, known for beaded chip bags; Cathy Fussell, whose quilts are inspired by her surroundings; Annie Greene, who creates “yarn paintings” based on her experiences as an African American in the rural South; and Victoria Dugger, whose multimedia sculptures explore beauty and grotesque elements through body horror and humor. Jamele Wright Sr.’s assemblages use Dutch wax cloth and Georgia red clay to examine themes of family and tradition within Black American culture.
“Seams to Be” is part of “Highlighting Contemporary Art in Georgia,” a triennial series that seeks to identify and support artists across the state while making their work accessible to various communities. The exhibition is organized by the Georgia Museum of Art in collaboration with independent guest curator Didi Dunphy.
Dunphy said, “The scale is really varied from minute beadwork to larger dying of fabric, quilting to weaving, rug hooking and broom-making. So, really, the connection is the nature of the studio practice, a manual labor with an attention to endurance and handwork detailing.”
Five artists in this exhibition have earned or are working toward master’s degrees from UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art: Adah Bennion (’26), Eliza Bentz (’25), Jasmine Best (’25), Jaime Bull (’13), and Victoria Dugger (’22). Other participating artists include Trish Andersen (Savannah); Kate Burke, Sonya Yong James, Kelly Taylor Mitchell, Honey Pierre, and Jamele Wright Sr. (Atlanta); Cathy Fussell (Columbus); and Annie Greene (LaGrange).
“I am just thrilled that this is the fourth version of the program and that with the support of the Georgia Museum of Art, I am able to accomplish my goals of promoting the profession of the arts through thoughtful and beautiful exhibitions and to advocate for the artist and the value of what art brings to our humanity,” says Dunphy. “It is fantastic to see these shows in the visiting venues. I liken it to going to dinner with your friends at different homes with a new seating arrangement. You know all the people there but in a new setting, there are always new things to see and learn. Each venue installs the show differently from the last and the education departments at these museums and arts centers do a wonderful job creating programs about the show for all ages of visitors.”
After its debut at Lyndon House Arts Center, “Seams to Be” will travel throughout Georgia with stops at LaGrange Art Museum; Morris Museum of Art in Augusta; Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon; Albany Museum of Art; and Columbus Museum.
