Coulter Fussell’s puffy, fluorescent wall works—all made from salvaged and donated textiles from friends, neighbors, and strangers alike—mix aspects and techniques from various textile practices, such as quilting, doll-making, and upholstery. The result is a body of work that celebrates Southern culture, the allure of rural landscapes, and the charm that can be found in the abundant waste of contemporary culture.
So far, 2026 has been a game-changing year for the Georgia-born, Mississippi-based artist. She received Creative Capital for Artist’s 2026 State of the Art Prize in January, was named a 2026 Joan Mitchell Fellow in August, and opened The Proving Ground, her first museum survey exhibition (with an accompanying catalog), at the Mississippi Museum of Art over the summer. Now on view at the Columbus Museum in Georgia, the show is an artistic homecoming of sorts.
Textiles often form the foundation of Fussell’s pieces, but her method to materiality is democratic—an outlook she attributes to her creative upbringing. “I grew up in a household where craft and what is considered fine art were on an equal footing,” she says. Her father, Fred, a folklorist and museum curator, and her mother, Cathy, a quilter and fiber artist, influencing her sensibilities alongside those of her brother, folk musician Jake Xerxes Fussell.
Coulter Fussell.
