“Birds flying high, you know how I feel …” The opening line of the song “Feeling Good,” popularized in the mid-1960s by Nina Simone as an anthem of Black joy and resilience in the wake of the signing of the Civil Rights Act is the fitting title of one of multiple murals by Jeffrey Gibson for the United States Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Gibson, the first Native artist to represent the US in a solo capacity at the international contemporary art exhibition, likewise brings resounding echoes of resistance amid an enduring struggle for Indigenous autonomy across the American continents.
A monumental bright-red sculpture of stepped pedestals against a geometric backdrop and flags mounted on teepee poles grace the entrance, where visitors can appreciate the Cherokee and Choctaw artist’s hybrid visual lexicon of Native and queer iconographies. On preview day, performers enacted a traditional jingle dress dance atop the podium-like structure, which visitors are now invited to climb and activate. Inside, beadwork sculptures that impress us with their technical intricacy take on a tone of subversion through the inclusion of language drawn from US founding documents, materials that represent at once promise and failure.
The space in which to place me was co-commissioned by Kathleen Ash-Milby, curator of Native American Art at the Portland Art Museum (PMA); Abigail Winograd, who co-directs the arts program at Centro Romero in Chicago, an organization supporting the local immigrant community; and Louis Grachos, the director of SITE Santa Fe.
It’s worth remembering that the legacy of Native representation in the US pavilion dates to 1932, when works by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie and Pueblo artist Ma Pe Wi, among others, were featured in a group presentation. Other Native individuals, notably curator Nancy Marie Mithlo (Fort Sill Chiricahua Apache), have helped ensure Indigenous presence in Biennale collateral events throughout the yaers.
Hyperallergic’s team on the ground brings us a sneak peek of the US Pavilion ahead of the Biennale’s public opening. See photos of the historic presentation below.
Jeffrey Gibson, “We Want to Be Free” (2024), ceramic, glass beads, plastic beads, nylon fringe, tin jingles, nylon thread, canvas, acrylic felt, cold-rolled mild steel, steel plate, 108 x 42 x 42 inches Jeffrey Gibson, “The Space in Which to Place Me” 2024, interactive sculpture made of concrete, paint, fiberglass, polystyrene foam, and steel, 10 feet x 18 feet 4 inches x 17 feet 7 3/4 inchesInstallation view of US Pavilion interior featuring Jeffrey Gibson’s sculpture “if there is no struggle there is no progress” (2024) and mural “BIRDS FLYING HIGH YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL” (2024)Left: Jeffrey Gibson, “WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT” (2024), glass beads, plastic beads, nylon thread, acrylic felt, found punching bag, 123 x 15 x 15 inches; Right: Detail of Jeffrey Gibson, “We Want to Be Free” (2024)Jeffrey Gibson’s “I’M A NATURAL MAN” (2024) (left) and “Treat me Right” (2024) (right), glass beads, nylon thread and fringe, vintage pinback buttons, tin jingles, metal bells, plastic bone pipe beads, grosgrain ribbon, acrylic felt, cold-rolled mild steel, steel plate, marble base, 23 x 24 x 12 inches and 29 x 26 x 16 inchesJeffrey Gibson, “She Never Dances Alone” (2020), nine-channel video installation featuring Sarah Ortegon; soundtrack: “Sisters” (2013) by The Halluci Nation featuring Northern Voice, two minutes and 50 secondsJeffrey Gibson, “if there is no struggle there is no progress” (2024), glass beads, rose quartz, metallic sequins, nylon thread, acrylic felt, polyester fill, cold-rolled mild steel, 23 x 35 x 18 inchesJeffrey Gibson, “Be Some Body” (2024), glass beads, nylon thread, vintage pinback buttons, tin jingles, acrylic felt, cold-rolled mild steel, steel plate, marble base, 23 x 24 x 12 inchesInstallation view of US Pavilion interior featuring Jeffrey Gibson’s “ACTION NOW ACTION IS ELOQUENCE” (2024) and “Be Some Body” (2024)Installation view of US Pavilion with works by Jeffrey GibsonA performance during the US pavilion’s press preview (photo Avedis Hadjian/Hyperallergic)One of the performers at the US pavilion (photo Avedis Hadjian/Hyperallergic)Exterior of the US Pavilion with murals and central sculpture by Jeffrey Gibson
Brooke Perez is a news writer at Rude The Podcast, where she covers lifestyle, books, sports, education, and tech. She's also a fan of travel and can't wait to see what the world has in store for her next.
