ROSIE LEE TOMPKINS

(1936 - 2006)

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 10th, 5 – 8 pm

Exhibition Dates: June 10th – July 15th, 2023

GGLA is proud to present an exhibition focusing on Rosie Lee Tompkins. The late Richmond, California artist whose vibrant and energy exuding quilts sit as a paragon for quilt-making and visual art in the 20th century.

Rosie Lee Tompkins was born Effie May Martin in Gould, Ark., on Sept. 9, 1936. Having helped her mother and other women in their town piece together quilts, the artist relocated to Richmond, California as part of the Great Migration, when she was 22 and took a pseudonym to separate her art world quilts from her everyday life.

Often inspired by her belief in God, Tompkins made quilts directed toward her own healing and spirituality and to honor family members. She employed a wide variety of traditional patterns, including half-squares, medallions, and yo-yos, exploring and adapting these approaches through her individual sensibility and integrating such favorite fabrics as velvet, artificial fur, and various types of glittery material. She also frequently incorporated embroidery—stitching words and citations of Christian scripture—as well as printed images on recycled clothes, which suggest the artist’s commentary on contemporary social, political, and cultural events.

Tompkins quilts have been featured at Berkeley Art Musuem and Pacific Film Archive, Whitney Museum of American Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Oakland Museum of California and Anthony Meier. 

For inquiries: guerrero@guerrerogallery.com

Rosie Lee Tompkins, Untitled, Cotton, Polyester, 79” x 64”, Year Unknown