Dr. Jaleesa Wells, Onyx Patchworks: Artist Talk and Reception
Dr. Jaleesa Wells
Onyx Patchworks
Exhibition: July 16 – August 27, 2026
Artist Talk and Reception: August 13, 2026
Kentucky Guild of Artist and Craftsmen
137 N Broadway, Berea, KY 40403
Onyx Patchworks is a solo exhibition of Dr. Jaleesa Wells hosted by the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, showcasing her ongoing fiber art quilts series.
In Onyx Patchworks, Dr. Wells explores Kentucky history through textile artworks inspired by archival and historical records from the Berea College Archives, the Camp Nelson historical site, and other Kentucky repositories. The exhibition includes artworks created with support from the Kentucky Arts Council’s 2025 America250KY program, along with new and previously unseen works that extend and deepen the series.
Through layered cloth, hand‑dyed color, and narrative stitching, the series reimagines archival fragments as living textures, inviting viewers to encounter Kentucky’s histories through the embodied language of fiber and to witness how textiles can illuminate the resilience and complexity of Kentucky’s communities. Together, the works trace the textures of Kentucky’s cultural memory, bringing forward underexplored stories.
Dr. Wells is a Berea, KY‑based craft artist, scholar, and founder of BossiRainbow®, where she bridges textile artistry and contemporary craft expression, using historical and archival research to honor cultural memory and shine a light on community histories.
The exhibition invites viewers to engage Kentucky’s layered histories through cloth, reflect on the lives and legacies represented within the work, and imagine how contemporary craft can shape more connected and culturally grounded futures.
