Jeffrey Gibson

Jeffrey Gibson

Frieze

Jeffrey Gibson

Stephen Friedman Gallery presents the first solo survey of Jeffrey Gibson in the UK.

Gibson’s work fuses his Choctaw-Cherokee heritage with references that span club culture, queer theory, fashion, politics, literature and art history. The artist’s multi-faceted practice incorporates painting, performance, sculpture, textiles and video and is characterised by vibrant colour and pattern.

Six new mixed-media paintings, two large beaded punching bag sculptures and a beaded bust are included in the exhibition. In these works, Gibson combines Indigenous artisanal handcraft – such as beadwork, leatherwork and quilting – with narratives of contemporary resistance in protest slogans and song lyrics. The artist harnesses the power of these materials to activate overlooked narratives, while embracing the presence of historically marginalised identities.

Gibson explains: “I am drawn to these materials because they acknowledge the global world. Historically, beads often came from Italy, the Czech Republic or Poland, and contemporary beads can also come from India, China and Japan. Jingles originated as the lids of tobacco and snuff tins, turned and used to adorn dresses, and now they are commercially made in places such as Taiwan. Metal studs also have trade references and originally may have come from the Spanish, but also have modern references to punk and DIY culture. It’s a continual mash-up.”

Pop music is also one of the primary points of reference in Gibson’s practice: musicians are his elders and lyrics are his mantras. His paintings synthesise geometric patterns inspired by North American Indigenous aesthetic histories with the lyrics and psychedelic palette of disco music.

JOYFUL NOISE, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

Gibson’s latest solo show, The Body Electric opened at SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico, in May 2022. The artist features in collections around the world including The Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Gibson was born in 1972, Colorado, USA and he currently lives and works in Hudson Valley, New York.

Recent solo exhibitions include The Body Electric at SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico (2022); INFINITE INDIGENOUS QUEER LOVE, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts (2021); To Feel Myself Beloved on the Earth, Benenson Center, Art Omi, Ghent, New York (2021); When Fire is Applied to a Stone It Cracks, Brooklyn Art Museum, Brooklyn, New York (2020); The Anthropophagic Effect, New Museum, New York City, New York (2019) and Like a Hammer, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, Wisconsin (2019).

Selected recent group exhibitions include Collecting – A Love Story: Glass from the Adele and Leonard Leight Collection, Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky (2021); Crafting America, Crystal Bridges, Bentonville, Arkansas (2021); Monuments Now, Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens, New York (2020) and Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois (2020).

Works can be found in the collections of Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado; Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, New York, amongst others. Gibson is a recipient of numerous awards, notably a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (2019), Joan Mitchell Foundation, Painters and Sculptors Grant (2015) and Creative Capital Award (2005).

JOYFUL NOISE, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

THE SUN SHINE,

IT’S

Acrylic

Framed:

DEEP

A QUESTION OF TIME A QUESTION OF TRUST, 2022

punching bag, glass beads, plastic beads, nylon fringe, artificial sinew, acrylic felt

x

x

x

x

1/4in)

Artwork Captions

p.1

IT’S SO DEEP I CAN’T SPEAK ABOUT IT, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

pp.5–6

JOYFUL NOISE, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

pp.8–9

PPPPP

OOOOO WWWWW

EEEEE

RRRRR, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

198.8 x 178.1 cm (78 1/4 x 70 1/8in)

Framed: 221.6 x 201cm (87 1/4 x 79 1/8in)

pp.10–11

MAYBE I’LL GET LUCKY THIS TIME, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

198.8 x 178.1 cm (78 1/4 x 70 1/8in)

Framed: 221.6 x 201cm (87 1/4 x 79 1/8in)

pp.12–13

I CAN CHOOSE, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

pp.14–15

THE SUN SHINE, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame

153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

pp.16–17

IT’S SO DEEP I CAN’T SPEAK ABOUT IT, 2022

Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset in custom wood frame 153.2 x 127.6cm (60 3/8 x 50 1/4in)

Framed: 177.8 x 152.4cm (70 x 60in)

p.18–19

A QUESTION OF TIME

A QUESTION OF TRUST, 2022

Found punching bag, glass beads, plastic beads, nylon fringe, artificial sinew, acrylic felt 182.9 x 36.2 x 36.2cm (72 x 14 1/4 x 14 1/4in)

pp.20–21

I AM A RAINBOW, 2022

Found punching bag, glass beads, artificial sinew, acrylic felt 127 x 36.2 x 36.2cm (50 x 14 1/4 x 14 1/4in)

pp.22–23

Stars In Their Eyes, 2022

Abalone, druzy crystal, nylon thread, glass beads, plastic beads, bone pipe beads, steel, acrylic felt 68.6 x 66 x 38.1cm (27 x 26 x 15in)

Published on the occasion of:

Jeffrey Gibson

Frieze

Booth C5

12 – 16 October 2022

25--28 Old Burlington Street London W1S 3AN stephenfriedman.com

All artworks © Jeffrey Gibson

Courtesy: Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

Design: Rory Black

Photography Credits

pp. 1, 5–6, 10–11, 14–23: Max Yawney; pp. 8–9, 12–13: Adam Reich