Venice Biennale Artist Jeffrey Gibson on Painting and Paying Tribute to Indigenous Cultural Legacies

By Christopher Garcia Valle

Jeffrey Gibson—who was profiled for the Summer 2024 “Icons” issue of Art in America and whose work features on the issue’s cover—is a painter, sculptor, video artist, and proponent of various forms of craft and performance that pay tribute to his Native American heritage. A member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, Gibson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and grew up in Germany, New Jersey, South Korea, and Maryland. This year, he is representing the United States in the Venice Biennale—the first time a Native American artist has done so with a solo show since the illustrious international event was inaugurated in 1895.

Before the Biennale opened in April, Art in America visited the artist in his studio, a spacious workshop teeming at the time with some 20 studio assistants in a former schoolhouse near Hudson, New York. While he primed a canvas and examined other works in various stages of preparation, Gibson talked about the allure of painting, his interest in the history and intricacy of beadwork, and advice he offers to aspiring artists looking to make their mark. Watch Gibson in his studio in the video above, and read more about him in Art in America’s latest “Icons” issue.