Jeffrey Gibson

×

Expand

Jeffrey Gibson’s Native American heritage comes together with his multimedia approach to art in his first major museum exhibition, organized by the Denver Art Museum. The exhibit’s 65 objects range from figurative works to wall hangings — all of which explore Gibson’s Cherokee-Choctaw heritage. Materials used include sterling silver, wool blankets, tipi poles, sinew and beads; there are even beaded Everlast punching bags. Video interviews introduce the artist, his unique visual vocabulary, and approach to modernism. On exhibit through Sept. 15.

press release: UPCOMING EVENTS:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1-1:45 PM, ROBERTA HILL ON JEFFREY GIBSON: LIKE A HAMMER: Through his work, Jeffrey Gibson imagines future possibilities by uniting traditions of the past with current socio-political shifts that are reshaping society. Roberta Hill will discuss aspects of Gibson’s art. Roberta Hill is professor of English and American Indian Studies at the UW-Madison, where she teaches courses on twentieth century literature and history; race, gender, class, and ethnicity; and American Indian literature, among other subjects. Professor Hill is also a poet of Wisconsin Oneida heritage and author of Star Quilt, Philadelphia Flowers: Poems, and Cicadas: New and Selected Poems.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 5:30-6:30 PM, THREE NATIVE WOMEN ON LIKE A HAMMER: Kendra Greendeer (Ho-Chunk), Dakota Mace (Diné), and Molli Pauliot (Ho-Chunk) will discuss Indigenous craft and gender roles reflected within Jeffrey Gibson’s work. This will include the cross-cultural use of Indigenous designs, the use of traditional and contemporary materials, and pan-Indianism referring to identity and gender. Kendra Greendeer is a third-year Art History PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University. Her research focuses on contemporary Native women artists and Indigenized museum spaces. Greendeer is also the collections manager for the Little Eagle Arts Foundation, a Ho-Chunk run arts organization. Dakota Mace is a Diné (Navajo) artist and scholar with concentrations in the appropriation of Indigenous designs, material culture, and textile history. Mace received her MA and MFA degrees in Photography and Textile Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BFA in Photography from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Molli Pauliot is a Buffalo clan member of the Ho-Chunk nation and pursuing a PhD in the UW-Madison Department of Anthropology. Pauliot’s research focuses on material culture and policy that affect access to cultural resources for American Indian people. She is an award-winning artist who concentrates on textiles and beadwork, with an interest in photography.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1-1:30 PM  DROP–IN TOUR: Drop by MMoCA for a lively and informal discussion of Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer. Expertly led by MMoCA’s docents, these free, 30-minute guided tours consider artists’ creative decisions and provide insight into their methods, ideas, and influences. Meet in the museum lobby.

Main Galleries • June 8–September, 15, 2019. MMoCA Opening Reception • Friday, June 7 • 6–9 pm. Artist talk 6:30 pm. $10.

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) is pleased to announce the 2019 presentation of artist Jeffrey Gibson’s first major museum exhibition. Organized by the Denver Art Museum (DAM), Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer will showcase the artist’s highly acclaimed multi-disciplinary work and will chronicle a pivotal moment in Gibson’s career when his contemporary artistic practice converged with his Choctaw and Cherokee heritage. The exhibition features about 65 objects, including a significant selection of his illustrious Everlast beaded punching bags, large and mid-sized figurative works, text-based wall hangings, painted works on rawhide and canvas, as well as videos.

“Jeffrey Gibson’s work is vibrant and bold, yet its layering conveys ideas that reward close viewing. His distinctive voice and visual language have drawn well-earned accolades,” stated Stephen Fleischman, MMoCA director. “We are fortunate to bring this exhibition to Madison and to continue our ongoing dialogue with the community and other museum visitors.”

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer will reveal how the artist draws upon his heritage and remixes his older works to create artworks that explore both his multi-faceted identity and the history of modernism. Gibson derives inspiration from a multitude of sources, ranging from pan-Native American visual culture to his involvement as a young adult in the queer club scene. His interests and life experiences inform his vision of exuberant hybridity, in which glass beads and metal jingles merge with abstract geometric patterns and passages of text from song lyrics, poems, and the artist’s own voice.

"Like a Hammer will feature works from one of the most important periods of my career so far,” said Gibson. “The exhibition begins with artworks that I made just after nearly giving up making art altogether due to feeling misunderstood as an artist and struggling to establish a personal language that describes my experience without compromising it. The objects, sculptures and paintings I've made since 2011 document this journey of establishing my own forward-looking voice influenced by all that has come before me."

Gibson frequently explores colonialism and the post-colonial mindset, reflecting on how American Indian experiences parallel other civil rights movements. His work also revolves around universal themes of love, community, strength, vulnerability and survival. Through videos featuring interviews with the artist and related programming, visitors will be able to gain an enhanced understanding of Gibson’s distinctive and complex creative practice, as well as how it has evolved from series to series.

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer is organized by the Denver Art Museum and curated by John Lukavic, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts. The exhibition travelled to just two additional venues (the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Seattle Art Museum).