art house: jeffrey gibson

Apr 22, 2014 | art, art house, inspiration, love, unique | 0 comments

we stumbled upon artist jeffrey gibson by chance and we’re so glad we stayed and continued looking into his work. while his geometric abstract paintings are quite beautiful and have been a part of his newer work, we were more drawn to his adorned punching bags. visually, you can see how he draws inspiration from his native american roots, especially traditional pow-wow dance regalia as seen by the bead work, sequins, tin shingles, color, etc.. but, there is also a very modern touch and other inspirations at work here which make it very fascinating!

jeffrey gibson showroom via kishani perera blog

via new york times

jeffrey gibson at marc straus gallery via kishani perera blog

via marc straus gallery

jeffrey gibson adorned punching bag at marc straus gallery via kishani perera blog

via marc straus gallery

in the december 2013 issue of artnews magazine, gibson explains his artistic choices: “the adornment references subcultural fashion, not just native american but also punk and queer – alternatives to mainstream that signal defiance and rejection of hetero-normative culture.” curator marshall n. price of the national academy museum describes gibson’s work as a “mash-up” or “remix”. some of the adorned punching bags are even wrapped in pieces of re-purposed paintings. how cool is that! sure, there is a decorative and beautiful element to this collection of work from gibson, but if you stop there you have missed the whole trajectory he has attempted to take you on. gibson further explains this best himself in this video. (mind you, there are probably quite a few kpi clients that we think would love one of his pieces in their homes!)

jeffrey gibson at marc straus gallery via kishani perera blog

jeffrey gibson at marc straus gallery via kishani perera blog

jeffrey gibson at marc straus gallery via kishani perera blog

jeffrey gibson at marc straus gallery via kishani perera blog

all images in this section via marc straus gallery

this summer, the southwest is in for a treat! in addition to being the subject of an exhibition at the denver art museum, gibson will begin a residency in the native arts artist-in-residence program. we’d love to be a fly on the wall for that class! some of gibson’s most recent exhibitions were at volta, national academy museum, institute of contemporary art in boston and marc straus gallery in new york city, where he is represented. we can’t wait to see what gibson does next! and, it seems we don’t have to wait too long. he recently collaborated with a peace treaty on a line of jewelry and scarves that are based on selected works of his. we are more than just a little obsessed now! how about you?

jeffrey gibson jewelry at a peace treaty via kishani perera blog

jeffrey gibson scarves at a peace treaty via kishani perera blog

jeffrey gibson jewelry at a peace treaty via kishani perera blog

all images in this section via a peace treaty