Holley X Bendolph

Ezekiel Holley, son of beloved Atlanta visual artist and musician Lonnie Holley, came to Charlotte to recreate the work of legendary quiltmaker and printmaker Louisiana Bendolph in the form of a mural. Bendolph is associated with The Quilts of Gee’s Bend, a group of famed African-American women crafting quilts along the Alabama River. (Her mother-in-law, Mary Lee Bendolph, is one of its most famous members.) In particular, it’s Louisiana Bendolph’s 2005 softground etching “MAYDAY” that is re-envisioned. While painting, Holley said, “I’m just trying to capture that image, with my own unique take on it.” The Holley and Bendolph families have a decades-long bond. Coming from a family of artists, Holley says it’s still “amazing” to be able to work alongside his dad, Lonnie. “Being his son, we have pieces we’ve collaborated on that the world hasn’t even seen,” he shared at Camp North End. “I’ll be like, ‘Dad can you throw something on this?’ and vice-versa. It’s that father-son bond, teaching and learning at the same time. I sometimes have some things to show him, and he, of course, always has things to show me.”

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