INFINITE INDIGENOUS QUEER LOVE
Artist
Jeffrey Gibson
(Choctaw/Cherokee, active New York, born 1972)
Date2020
Mediumacrylic on canvas, glass beads and artificial sinew inset into wood frame
Dimensionsframed: 162.2 × 90.2 cm (63 7/8 × 35 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum purchase through the Gift of Jean McDonough
Object number2024.6
Label TextGibson’s art is influenced by the visual culture of his
Choctaw and Cherokee heritage, by hard-edged
modernist abstraction, and by contemporary popular
culture. He is interested in how the “traditional” always
evolves and responds to contemporary circumstances.
For example, he uses glass beads – commonly
associated with Native American artistic traditions, they
were only incorporated into their craft after being
introduced by European colonists.
The artist’s compositions often feature appropriated
phrases from protests, lyrics from popular dance and
gospel music, as well as his own words. These
declarative phrases speak broadly to ideals of love and
acceptance, and often specifically to queer and
Indigenous empowerment. This work explores the
intersections within Gibson’s own identity as a queer
Native American artist. He conceived the statement
INFINITE INDIGENOUS QUEER LOVE by first reflecting
on love as a central theme in everything he makes.
Infinite su ests a continuing and expansive existence,
while the personal descriptors of indigenous and queer
combine to create a deeply personal affirmation by the
artist.
(2024)ProvenanceThe artist, New York; (Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY); 2023, purchased by the Worcester Art Museum.On View
On view
Chinese
19th century, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
