Jeffrey Gibson, “Desert Sky” (at right), “Red Sunset” (rear), “Red Moon,” 2021. Fringe, metal. Courtesy of the artist.
Jeffrey Gibson, the American artist who is a member of the Mississippi band of Choctaw Indians, and of Cherokee descent, displays his multifaceted approach to materials and media in “INFINITE INDIGENOUS QUEER LOVE,” a sprawling display of new work on view indoors and outdoors through March, 2022 at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln.
Gibson (b. 1972), a 2019 MacArthur grantee, shows the massive “Because Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House” on the deCordova grounds, greeting visitors at the entryway. The structure—in ziggurat form, mimicking indigenous buildings of pre-European Mississippian culture—also serves as a platform in a series of video installations inside the museum.
Those installations include performances on the structure by collaborators, shot during the pandemic when “Because Once You Enter My House…” was previously installed at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, NY.
Also indoors, two series of silk screen prints, which Gibson collages, blend indigenous materials and ideas—beads, twine, symmetrical geographic design. And most dramatically, in the main gallery, three huge hanging cube-shaped textile sculptures, colorfully fabricated from long cord, suspend grandly from the ceiling.
The exhibition title, “INFINITE INDIGENOUS QUEER LOVE,” touches on aspects of Gibson’s identity. Gibson, born in Colorado, traveled internationally as a child, attended art school in Chicago and London, and is now based in New York.
While the MacArthur grant enhanced his visibility, he had already had major shows in Denver, Ottawa, Seattle and at the Whitney in New York before the award. His work regularly finds a home in New York galleries, and his show “Love Song” was mounted at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art in 2013.
Jeffrey Gibson, “Because Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House,” 2020/2021, plywood, posters, steel and performances. Julia Featheringill photograph
Gibson’s text-based silk screen designs are sometimes harmonious, sometimes hectic. A mix of beading, text and abstraction, some include historical re-appraisals or re-workings. None of it shouts political or social causes out loud; Gibson’s work is pointed, but not didactic.
The exhibition encompasses a dizzying shift of media, with just a glimpse into Gibson’s expansive creations. He is equally versed in referencing pow-wows as he is nightclubs, simultaneously evoking rave culture and traditional Iroquois beadwork. Previous work, not shown here, includes fanciful punching bags—a series of unique creations that incorporate text, beading, and design, often clothing—into boxer’s heavy bags.
His work is compelling on its own terms, not didactic. He creates his own context out of indigenous traditions and materials, with a contemporary view of abstract expressionism and aesthetics. There are messages in Gibson’s work, but not a single message.
The silk screens create a hectic space, with often dizzying patterns caching text. Gibson’s three hanging textile sculptures create the opposite mood—monolithic, looming, making a meditative space out of the spacious, otherwise barren gallery.
Two of them—“Red Moon” and “Red Sunset”—weave cords in the red/black spectrum. One—“Desert Sunset,” with Laker colors (purple and gold)—sets itself apart with a flourish. Hung asymmetrically from the ceiling, their placement forces the viewer into various visual perspectives. Unlike Gibson’s silk screens, the monoliths are calm and unhurried.
Labeling is minimal throughout the galleries, mirroring the artwork—the exhibition itself refuses to be didactic. Gibson describes and enumerates, but doesn’t accuse.
“Jeffrey Gibson: INFINITE INDIGENOUS QUEER LOVE,” runs through March 2022 at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, 51 Sandy Pond Rd., Lincoln. Free with timed museum admission. Visit thetrustees.org or call 617 542-7696.
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Leonore Overture and Opera News. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.