Beginning Sept. 2, the Bo Bartlett Center at Columbus State University will host “Hot Water,” the first comprehensive survey exhibition of Mississippi-based artist Coulter Fussell’s acclaimed River Raft Quilt series. It features more than 20 hand-stitched textile sculptures and wall works created entirely from donated clothing and fabrics, transforming everyday materials into fantastical narratives of escape and journey.

Drawing from her childhood in Columbus, Georgia, Fussell uses the Lower Chattahoochee Valley as the narrative backdrop for these metaphorical flotation devices. The quilted works serve as both makeshift rafts and navigational guides through landscapes marked by riverside mills, foundries and a military base—highlighting the intersection of Southern economic history and the natural environment.

“These works act as open-ended narrative vessels for stories of personal escape and tales of dream-seeking,” noted exhibition essayist Maria Britton. The pieces incorporate unexpected elements, including fish nets, secret money bags, navigational stars, submarine periscopes, children’s velvet pillows, fishing lures, slot machines, and imagined escape hatches to the river bottom.

“The exhibition gains particular resonance being displayed at the Bo Bartlett Center, located on the banks of the very stretch of the Chattahoochee River that inspired the series,” noted Michael McFalls, the center’s director and a professor in the university’s Department of Art. “The works in the exhibition incorporate landscape photographs printed on chiffon, primarily taken by the artist’s father, Fred Fussell, thereby adding layers of personal and familial memory to the textile narratives.”

Fussell’s “grafting” technique—joining disparate materials to grow as one—reflects both traditional quilting methods and modern artistic practices. Her non-hierarchical approach gives equal weight to feed bags, cartoon-printed fabrics, household linens and airbrushed T-shirts, creating what Britton describes as “Frankenstein” assemblages that transform worn and discarded textiles into compelling visual stories.

On Thursday, Sept. 18, patrons and the community are invited to the center for an artist talk with Fussell at 5:30 p.m., when she will discuss her work. A reception celebrating the opening of both “Hot Water” and South Arts 2024 will follow at 6:30 p.m.

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of Helen & Comer Hobbs and Carol & Bob Nace. It is open for viewing through Saturday, Dec. 6, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for holidays. Admission is free.