American artist Jeffrey Gibson explores the fractured history of Native peoples

‘Jeffrey Gibson: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING’ runs until 22 July at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco

Jeffrey Gibson, Praying for Time, 2023
Jeffrey Gibson, PRAYING FOR TIME, 2023. Cold press watercolor paper, studio ephemera, archival pigment prints on watercolor paper, acrylic paint, vintage beaded panel, vintage beaded belt buckle, vintage beaded medallion, glass beads, nylon thread and muslin
(Image credit: Photography: Phillip Maisel. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco)

In his latest body of work, on view until 22 July at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco, the American artist Jeffrey Gibson explores the collage medium through the lens of his Cherokee and Choctaw heritage.

The works on paper incorporate found objects and imagery, beadwork and textile that have been assembled into intricate arrangements, and interrogate themes of empowerment, consumption, and non-Western modes of relating to each other – issues that have persisted throughout Gibson’s multidisciplinary and multifaceted practice.

Using offcuts, paper scraps, handmade Native American objects like watch bands and belt buckles, and imagery that he has collected and stored for decades, Gibson relates these forgotten materials to the fractured history of Native peoples.

‘Jeffrey Gibson: Once More with Feeling’, installation view at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco

‘Jeffrey Gibson: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING’, installation view at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco

(Image credit: Photography: Phillip Maisel. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco)

For PRAYING FOR TIME (pictured top), whose title is borrowed from a George Michael song, Gibson subverts the work of Elbridge Ayer Burbank, a 19th-century American artist who made portraits of more than 1,200 Native people, often dressed in garments not of their own tribe or culture. Setting Burbank’s portraits of White Swan and Christian Naiche against vibrant beadwork and patterning, Gibson critiques Burbank’s depiction of Native Americans as a dying race at the time, in a powerful political statement against erasure. 

‘Jeffrey Gibson: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING’ runs until 22 July at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco, jessicasilvermangallery.com

A version of this article appears in the August 2023 issue of Wallpaper* – a guide to creative America – available in print from 6 July, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Jeffrey Gibson artwork

Jeffrey Gibson, HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE, 2023. Cold press watercolor paper, studio ephemera, archival pigment prints on cotton, acrylic paint, vintage beaded belt buckle, vintage beaded panel, vintage pinback button, glass beads, nylon thread and muslin

(Image credit: Photography: Phillip Maisel. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco)

Jeffrey Gibson artwork

Jeffrey Gibson, ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, 2023. Cold press watercolor paper, studio ephemera, book clippings, early watercolors from artist's archive, acrylic paint, vintage beaded wrist watch, vintage beaded belt buckle, vintage hair clip, glass beads, nylon thread and muslin

(Image credit: Photography: Phillip Maisel. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco)

Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.