Jeffrey Gibson: no simple word for time

For its season of four linked exhibitions, the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich has fixed on a complicated and ever-relevant theme: What is truth? Jeffrey Gibson responds to this daunting question in what is also his first solo exhibition in the UK (24 Feb–4 Aug). The Mississippi Choctaw-Cherokee painter and sculptor, who is the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale this year, is known for creating texturally complex and richly coloured works, such as his quilted textile piece They Want To Be Free (2021). He also explores the complexities of labels and identity, particularly in relation to marginalised groups such as the Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ communities of his home country. For this exhibition, Gibson will create a site-specific and sprawling installation which integrates objects and materials from the past 200 years – beadwork, dolls and parfleche – that draw on the artist’s own cultural background as well as that of other Indigenous groups. Find out more from the Sainsbury Centre’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

They Want to be Free (2021), Jeffrey Gibson. Photo: Brian Barlow; courtesy the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Roberts Projects; © Jeffrey Gibson

I AM A RAINBOW (2022), Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Roberts Projects; © Jeffrey Gibson

THE SUN SHINE (2022), Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist, Stephen Friedman Gallery, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. and Roberts Projects; © Jeffrey Gibson