Marlene Bennett Jones

Marlene Bennett Jones was was born in 1947 in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, the eighth oldest of fourteen children. As a young girl in Gee’s Bend she was taught how to quilt by her Mother, Agatha P. Bennett and other relatives. After she had been working as an Aeronautical Electronic Technician for Lockheed Martin and Raytheon’s electronic industry, she returned home to Gee’s Bend in the early 2000’s when her mother fell ill. Marlene chose to use the old clothes to make over 20 heirloom quilts for her siblings and family members. 

Marlene's work was included in the 2006 traveling museum exhibition, Gee’s Bend, The Architecture of the Quilt, originating at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Additional museum venues for this exhibition include the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Orlando Museum of Art, The Walters Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, the Speed Art Museum, Denver Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum and the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Work by Marlene Bennett Jones is in the permanent collection of the ICA Miami.

Her work has recently been exhibited at the Royal Academy, London.

Marlene Bennett Jones was featured in the following gallery exhibitions:

My Way: The Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers and Contemporary Abstraction, Parts and Labor, Beacon, NY, 2020.

My Way: Gee's Bend Today, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York, 2025.

 

Click Here for available works by Marlene Bennett Jones