Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day is a vibrant, celebratory exhibition in which the artist brings together his Choctaw and Cherokee heritage and a range of diverse artistic and cultural influences to explore race, sexuality, religion, and gender. More than 50 works made between 2014 and 2018 include intricately beaded wall hangings and punching bags, paintings, ceramics, garments, helmets, and a new video commissioned for the exhibition, I Was Here (2018). The film follows Macy, a trans-Choctaw woman living on a reservation in rural Mississippi, melding documentary and fantastical elements in a way that harkens back to independent films from the 1980s and 90s such as “Bagdad Cafe” (1987) and “My Own Private Idaho” (1991).
In his work, Gibson (b. 1972; based in Claverack, New York) often joins exuberant colors, patterns, and materials with text borrowed from such authors as James Baldwin and Simone de Beauvoir or song lyrics by Grace Jones, Boy George, and other musicians. These combinations highlight the unexpected connections between ceremonies and performances found in Native American powwow rituals, dance clubs, and drag shows, underscoring the complex vitality of Gibson’s eclectic sources.
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Jeffrey Gibson, Without You I’m Nothing, 2018, Custom-printed polyester satin and neoprene, polyester, and batting, with glass, plastic, stone, and bone beads, brass grommets, acrylic yarn, polyester laces, acrylic paint, and artificial sinew on acrylic felt and canvas, suspended from tipi poles with rawhide ties, 121 x 74 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. (307.3 x 188.6 x 19.1 cm). Courtesy of the artist; Roberts Projects, Los Angeles; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; and Kavi Gupta, Chicago. © Jeffrey Gibson.
Jeffrey Gibson. “PEOPLE LIKE US,” 2018. Custom-printed polyester satin and neoprene, cotton, silk Ikat velvet, wool, repurposed quilt, tapestry, and vestment, with glass, plastic, and stone beads, nickel and brass studs, brass grommets, cultured pearls, nylon ribbon, and artificial sinew on canvas, suspended from tipi poles with rawhide ties, 85 x 74 x 5 in. (215.9 x 188 x 12.7 cm). Courtesy of the artist; Roberts Projects, Los Angeles; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; and Kavi Gupta, Chicago. © Jeffrey Gibson. Photograph by Caitlin Mitchell.
Jeffrey Gibson, Love, 2018. Epoxy clay with glass beads, metal, resin, and plastic heart charms, amethyst geode, steel wire, nylon thread, and pigmented acrylic gel medium, 25 ½ x 14 x 15 3/4 in. (64.1 x 35.6 x 40 cm). Courtesy of the artist; Roberts Projects, Los Angeles; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; and Kavi Gupta, Chicago. © Jeffrey Gibson.
Jeffrey Gibson, Oceana, 2018. Epoxy clay with coral, shells, bull-shark jaw, cultured pearls, nylon thread, and pigmented acrylic gel medium, 23 1/2 x 15 x 13 in. (59.7 x 38.1 x 33 cm). Courtesy of the artists; Roberts Projects, Los Angeles; Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York; and Kavi Gupta, Chicago. © Jeffrey Gibson.
Exhibition installation view of “Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day.” Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photograph by John Bentham.
Exhibition installation view of “Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day.” Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photograph by John Bentham.
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
View of Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, July 14, 2019–September 29, 2019
Exhibition Video
Spotify Playlist
Press
Arts and Culture Texas, ‘The Hearts I Have Touched Will Be the Proof’ Jeffrey Gibson at the Blanton
The Austin Chronicle, “Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day” at the Blanton
Glasstire, Top Five: July 24, 2019
FOX 7 Austin, Jeffrey Gibson exhibit at the Blanton
Sightlines, Call and Response: A Conversation with Jeffrey Gibson
Credit
This exhibition was curated by Tracy L. Adler, Johnson-Pote Director of the Wellin Museum.
The Blanton’s presentation is organized by Veronica Roberts, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Blanton Museum of Art.
Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day is organized by the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York.
Generous funding for this exhibition at the Blanton is provided by Jeanne and Michael Klein, with additional support from Suzanne Deal Booth and Bridget and Patrick Wade.