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Roberts Projects is pleased to announce It Can Be Said of Them, Jeffrey Gibson’s solo exhibition featuring new work exploring themes of identity–as it relates to diversity and inclusivity–to uplift the unique experiences, struggles and personal victories shaping the current fight for LGBTQIA visibility. It Can Be Said of Them takes its title from a print produced by Sister Corita Kent in 1969. Kent’s print was part of her “Heroes and Sheroes” series, undertaken after she formally left the church as a serving nun, and depicts images of Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy. The men are surrounded by a quote by author E.B. White that reads, “It can be said of him, as of few men in like position, that he did not fear the weather and did not turn his sails, but instead, challenged the wind itself to improve its direction and to cause it to blow more softly and more kindly over the world and its people.”[1] A strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, Kent viewed these four figures, among many others, as modern day martyrs, especially during a time of aggressive political and social unrest.

Gibson was inspired not only by Kent’s radical activism during this historical period, but by her choice to change the more commonly used pronoun “him” to a more inclusive “them”. The singular “them/they” can be indicative of one’s choice to self-identify as non-binary or gender-fluid, as well as signifying the linguistic expansion of how gender and its influence on both diversity and inclusivity have evolved.

Gibson recognizes how the fight towards total gender equality remains inextricable from the struggle to attain universal civil rights, and continues to be advanced by the sustained, common efforts of many. In recontextualizing the words of activists and artists alike who have fought for, campaigned and promoted human rights, he highlights and unifies separate voices and experiences advocating for parallel goals. 

All the works on view feature the bold geometric patterning, hand-stitching and intricate beading details defining Gibson’s recognizable aesthetic, echoing the rhythmic flow and verses of the displayed language. Gibson’s punching bags transcend their original form and purpose to become phenomenal visual experience. Fully beaded with the slogan of a popular chant, CAN THEY SHE HE DO IT? YES WE CAN! reflects on the loud and joyful inclusion of all by speaking to the they(s), the she(s) and the he(s), in that order. Collectively each become the “we!” of the rallying cry.

Accompanying beaded wall works and figures continue to further develop Gibson’s hybrid influences, pairing Modernist forms and techniques with his narrative deconstructions of language’s intrinsic properties. Text pulled from songs by Tracy Chapman, Björk, and Terry Callier, among others, highlight charged cultural messages still relevant today. In Gibson’s hands, the oratory power of music is a tool to understand an ever-shifting present and the dynamic presence of history.

SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL BOY uses excerpted lyrics from British electronic group Underworld’s hit song “Born Slippy”. The use of pronouns changes throughout the song’s duration, capturing the literal and, at times, metaphorical shift of (re)constructed and (re-)affirmed identity. In direct contrast, I COULD BE SOMEONE, inspired by Tracy Chapman’s 1988 song “Fast Car”, consistently uses the pronoun “I.” Yet the intimacy and immediacy of Chapman’s first-person narrative expands the song to embody all-comprehensive themes of survival and control, elevating what could be a more narrow subject to a broader universal singularity. YOU’LL BE GIVEN LOVE also touches on this concept of the infinite, where all are parts of a greater whole, and applies it to the innermost dynamics of love inherent to all human bonds.

It is in these works and others on view, that Gibson expands on how gender, as identity, is a liminal space; one that occupies and explores the in-between, the threshold, the reconfigured and the temporal. As a transitory space or state, it is characterized by ambiguity, hybridity and fluidity, with the great potential for subversion and radical transformation. Writing about anti-structure, cultural anthropologist Victor Turner argues that this liminal state is “a conceptual space where the ordinary world falls away, and the hierarchies of everyday life are no longer applicable.”[2]  It is in this sublimination of surrender where joy can be found; where one re-articulates a new identity beyond the restricted spheres tied to tradition, geography, or social construct, and lives openly after abandoning the constraints of the everyday. Gibson’s most recent work is a reaffirmation of this profound and total freedom.

It Can Be Said of Them marks Gibson’s second solo show with the gallery. A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition.

 

[1] Malcolm, David, Donald Malcolm, and E.B. White. “After the Assassination of J.F.K. A reflection on the death of the President.” The New Yorker November 30, 1963 Issue, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1963/11/30/comment-after-the-assassination-of-jfk
[2] Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Chicago: Aldine Press, 1969.

Jeffrey Gibson, YES! WE CAN, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
YES! WE CAN, 2020
Punching bag, glass beads, artificial sinew, acrylic felt
50.5 x 14.5 x 14.5 inches (128.3 x 36.8 x 36.8 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, BRING DOWN THE WALLS, LET 'EM FALL FALL FALL, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
BRING DOWN THE WALLS, LET 'EM FALL FALL FALL, 2020
Acrylic on canvas, glass beads and artificial sinew inset into wood frame
44 x 56 in (111.8 x 142.2 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, THEY CHOOSE THEIR FAMILY, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
THEY CHOOSE THEIR FAMILY, 2020
Acrylic on canvas, glass beads and artificial sinew inset into wood frame
45 x 56.5 in (114.3 x 143.5 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, ONE FOOT IN GLORY, ONE FOOT IN HELL, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
ONE FOOT IN GLORY, ONE FOOT IN HELL, 2020
Acrylic on canvas, glass beads and artificial sinew inset into wood frame
44 x 56.5 in (111.8 x 143.5 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, lusa hicha tohbi, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
lusa hicha tohbi, 2020
Glass beads, acrylic felt, artificial sinew, nylon thread, acrylic polyfil, onyx stones, steel base, wood block
Figure: 28 x 24.5 x 13.125 in (71.1 x 62.2 x 33.3 cm)
Figure with pedestal: 71 x 24.5 x 13.125 in (180.3 x 62.3 x 33.3 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Sentinal, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Sentinel, 2020
Acrylic felt, nylon thread, artificial sinew, glass beads, copper coated tin jingles, nylon fringe, cotton canvas, wood panel
95 x 57.5 x 5.5 in (241.3 x 146.05 x 13.97 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, humma hicha Ivkna, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
humma hicha lvkna, 2020
Glass beads, brass bells, artificial sinew, acrylic felt, brass sequins, nylon thread, acrylic polyfil, steel base, wood block
Figure: 27.5 x 23 x 13.75 in (69.9 x 58.4 x 34.9 cm)
Figure with pedestal: 70.5 x 23 x 13.25 (179.1 x 58.4 x 33.7)

Jeffrey Gibson THE LOVE YOU GIVE IS THE LOVE YOU GET, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
THE LOVE YOU GIVE IS THE LOVE YOU GET, 2020
Punching bag, glass beads, artificial sinew, acrylic felt
50.5 x 14.5 x 14.5 in (128.3 x 36.8 x 36.8 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, I COULD BE SOMEONE, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
I COULD BE SOMEONE, 2020
Acrylic felt, cotton canvas, wood panel, nylon thread, artificial sinew, glass beads
40 x 30 x 3.5 in (1010.6 x 76.2 x 8.9 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, IT CAN BE SAID OF THEM, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
IT CAN BE SAID OF THEM, 2020
Glass beads, artificial sinew, acrylic felt, nylon thread, nylon fringe, cotton canvas, wood panel
50 x 56 x 3.5 in (127 x 142.2 x 8.9 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL BOY, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL BOY, 2020
Acrylic felt, cotton canvas, wood panel, nylon thread, glass beads, artificial sinew
40 x 30 x 2.75 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 7 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, YOU'LL BE GIVEN LOVE, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
YOU'LL BE GIVEN LOVE, 2020
Repurposed trading post weaving, acrylic felt, nylon thread, artificial sinew, glass beads, plastic beads, nylon fringe, cotton canvas
47 x 48 x 3 in (119.4 x 121.9 x 7.6 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Sun In The Sky You Know How I Feel, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Sun In The Sky You Know How I Feel, 2020
Cotton rag paper, inkjet print, vintage beaded hair clip, found papers, acrylic paint
19.75 x 9.25 in (50.2 x 23.5 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Stars and Stripes, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Stars & Stripes, 2020
Cotton rag paper, vintage beadwork, vintage hair clip, vintage quilting, vintage papers, graphite, acrylic paint
18 x 17.25 in (45.7 x 43.8 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Rise Up And Take To The Sky, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Rise Up And Take To The Sky, 2020
Cotton rag paper, found beaded appliqué (glass beads, polyester, thread), urethane, inkjet print, acrylic inks, acrylic glazes, acrylic paint
18.25 x 26.5 in (45.7 x 66.7 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Souvenir, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Souvenir, 2020
Cotton rag paper, found beaded whimsy (glass beads, velvet, thread), urethane, inkjet print, acrylic inks, acrylic glazes
24 x 21 in (61 x 53.3 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, homakbi tvli, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
homakbi tvli, 2020
Glass beads, plastic beads, artificial sinew, nylon thread, nylon fringe, acrylic felt, acrylic polyfil, amethyst stones, steelbase, wood block
Figure: 27.5 x 23 x 13.75 in (69.9 x 58.4 x 34.9 cm)
Figure with pedestal: 72.5 x 22.5 x 13.25 in (184.2 x 57.2 x 33.7 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, American Beauty, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
American Beauty, 2020
Cotton rag paper, found beaded whimsy (glass beads, cotton fabric, thread), found beaded appliqué (glass beads, thread), urethane, inkjet print, acrylic inks, acrylic glazes, acrylic paint
21.5 x 18 in (54.6 x 45.7 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, When I Will See You Again, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
When I Will See You Again, 2020
Cotton rag paper, found beaded appliqué (glass beads, polyester, thread), found pin, silicone, urethane, acrylic inks, inkjet print, acrylic glazes, acrylic paint
18 x 21.75 in (45.7 x 55.2 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Tell It Like It Is!, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Tell It Like It Is!, 2020
Cotton rag paper, found beaded appliqué (glass beads, polyester, thread), found pin, silicone, urethane, inkjet print, acrylic inks, acrylic glazes, acrylic paint
20 x 17.25 in (50.8 x 43.8 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson, Chief, 2020

Jeffrey Gibson
Chief, 2020
Cotton rag paper, found beaded appliqué (glass beads, polyester, thread), silicone, urethane, found paper, acrylic inks, acrylic glazes, acrylic paint
11.25 x 16.25 in (28.6 x 40.6 cm)