October 25 - December 13, 2015
Jeffrey Gibson grew up in major urban centers in the United States, Germany, Korea, England and elsewhere. He is also a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee. This unique combination of global cultural influences converge in his multi-disciplinary practice of more than a decade since the completion of his Master of Arts degree in painting at The Royal College of Art, London in 1998 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995.
Gibson’s artwork intermingles elements of traditional Native American art with contemporary artistic references. Thus powwow regalia, 19th century parfleche containers, and drums are seamlessly merged with elements of Modernist geometric abstraction, Minimalism, and Pattern and Decoration. Here there is an echo of Frank Stella and Josef Albers – canonized in our current dialogue which has little or no inclusion of Native American art which Gibson provides comparable weight and equivalence.
Gibson’s artworks are in the permanent collections of many major art museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Canada, the Nasher, the Nerman, Crystal Bridges, and the Denver Art Museum. Recent solo exhibitions include SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah and Atlanta), the National Academy Museum in New York, The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Cornell Museum of Fine Art. The Denver Art Museum will mount a traveling mid-career survey in the Spring of 2018, to be followed by a smaller solo exhibition at the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art in the fall of 2018. He has participated in Greater New York, Prospect New Orleans, the Everson Biennale, and Site Santa Fe. Gibson is a member of the faculty at Bard College and a past TED Foundation Fellow and Joan Mitchell Grant recipient.
Portrait image by and courtesy of Jessica Goehring
Selected Works
Dances Hard for Who We Were
2013
Wool US Army blankets, artist's own repurposed painting, glass beads, steel, artificial sinew, acrylic paint
60 x 16 x 16 in (152.4 x 40.6 x 40.6 cm)
Deep Blue Day
2014
Found vinyl punching bag, recycled wool blanket, artist’s own repurposed painting, artificial sinew, steel studs
49.5 x 16 x 16 in (125.7 x 40.6 x 40.6 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
The Future Is Present, 2015
Steel studs, glass beads, artificial sinew, wool, canvas, wood, tin cones
19.25 x 60 in (49 x 152 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
Shield No. 6, 2013
Deer hide over antique ironing board, acrylic paint
55.5 x 14.5 in (141 x 37 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
Shield No. 13, 2014
Elk hide over antique ironing board, acrylic paint, graphite
66 x 15.5 x 1 in (168 x 39 x 3 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - YOU MAKE ME FEEL, 2016
Wool, artificial sinew, glass beads, canvas, acrylic medium, wood, steel studs
40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
Three Bars, 2011
Acrylic on recycled and collaged painting, glass beads, steel studs
58 x 46.5 in (147 x 111.8 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
Flight Pattern, 2013
Acrylic tube, color gel, deer hide, artificial sinew, acrylic paint, commercial light fixtures
72 x 24 in. (182.8 x 60.9 cm)
Gibson, Jeffrey_Fade Into You_40x30_2014_HighRes
Jeffrey Gibson
Always After Now, 2014
Wool army blanket, glass beads, rawhide, goat fur, Drusy crystal, quartz crystals, tin jingles, steel studs, acrylic yarn, artificial sinew, nylon thread, metal wire, steel rod, Aspen wood base
76.5 x 34.75 x 12.5 in (194 x 88 x 32 cm)
Gibson, Jeffrey_Trade_67 x 50.5_2011_FullRes
Jeffrey Gibson
New York City Boy, 2014
Found vinyl punching bag, recycled wool blanket, artist’s own repurposed painting, artificial sinew
48 x 15 x 15 in (122 x 38 x 38 cm)
Jeffrey Gibson
Everlast (The Quiet One), 2012
Found punching bag, wool, repurposed painting, glass beads, dentalium, steel, quartz crystals, artificial sinew, tin cones, nylon shawl fringe
61 x 16 x 16 in (155 x 40.75 x 40.75 cm)