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Jeffrey Gibson: This is the Day

Exhibitions
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

Jeffrey Gibson: This Is the Day

OPENS
July 14, 2019
CLOSES
September 29, 2019
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About the Exhibition

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.

This exhibition will be on view in our Butler Gallery, located on the ground floor of the museum.

Share your experience on social media using #ThisIsTheDayATX

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, Nicole and George Jeffords, and Bridget and Patrick Wade.

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. 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.
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Credits

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.

Image Credit

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. Photograph by Caitlin Mitchell. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College.

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