Visual Language

Excitement abounds as Native American artist Jeffrey Gibson heads to La Biennale di Venezia.

Everyone is abuzz this year for the prestigious international art exhibition known as La Biennale di Venezia, as it features the first solo exhibition for an Indigenous artist from the United States, Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw/Cherokee). This significant event is based in Venice, Italy, and is now celebrating its 60th edition of honoring contemporary arts from artists across the world, and furthering its mission in promoting new artistic trends in art, architecture, dance, music, film and more.

Exterior view of the space in which to place me at the 2024 La Biennale di Venezia. Forecourt sculpture: the space in which to place me (2024). Photograph by Timothy Schenck.

Gibson’s exhibition at the U.S. Pavilion, titled the space in which to place me, referencing the poem He Sápa by Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier, features more than 20 works of sculpture, multimedia paintings, paintings on paper and video, and includes both new and recent works. “…Gibson creates a dynamic visual language that reflects the inherent diversity and hybridity of American culture,” reads the exhibition press release. “Using abundant color, complex pattern and text, he invites deep reflection on the complex intersections that form one’s identity, inspires empathy, and advocates for a widening of access to democracy and freedom for all.”

Birds from left to right: we are the witnesses (2024) and if there is no struggle there is no progress (2024). Wall works from left to right: BIRDS FLYING HIGH YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL (2024); IF YOU WANT TO LIFT YOURSELF UP LIFT UP SOMEONE ELSE (2024). Photograph by Timothy Schenck.

In addition, Gibson’s vision could not have come together without the help of the commission of Kathleen Ash-Milby, curator of Native American art at the Portland Art Museum and a member of the Navajo Nation; Louis Grachos, Phillips executive director of SITE Santa Fe; and Abigail Winograd, independent curator. The exhibition is also the first to be commissioned and co-curated by a Native American curator with Ash-Milby curating alongside Winograd.

Installation view of WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT (2024). Photograph by Timothy Schenck.

“I certainly understand the importance of this moment, and whether it was me or someone else, it was long overdue,” Gibson says of what it means to be the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States in a solo exhibition. “I am much more interested in what happens next, and hopefully Native people will see it as a call to come and participate on a larger scale, not just at the Biennale Arte, but in the art world at large.”

From left to right: She Never Dances Alone (2020); WHEREAS IT IS ESSENTIAL TO JUST GOVERNMENT WE RECOGNIZE THE EQUALITY OF ALL PEOPLE BEFORE THE LAW (2024). Photograph by Timothy Schenck.

For the overall theme, Gibson explains that “historically, identity has been described in very didactic terms. The message that I want people to take away from the exhibition is that we define each other through our choices: our lifestyle choices, our political choices. In allowing ourselves to express our own first-person narratives, it only makes us richer.”

While Gibson considers himself an interdisciplinary artist, he notes, “I trained as a painter, and I think that’s probably where everything makes the most sense to me. At the same time, most of my subject matter has to do with materials and aesthetics found in movement, dance and sound. I wanted to share that sensory experience with people, which is what led me to performance as well as sculpture.”

Paintings from left to right: THE GREAT SPIRIT IS IN ALL THINGS (2024); ACTION NOW ACTION IS ELOQUENCE (2024); THE OBLIGATION OF HONOR OF A POWERFUL NATION (2024); WE WILL BE KNOWN FOREVER BY THE TRACKS WE LEAVE (2024). Busts from left to right: Be Some Body (2024); I’M A NATURAL MAN (2024). Photograph by Timothy Schenck.

Works in the exhibition like the installation We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident and mural Birds Flying High You Know How I Feel include pieces of constitutional amendments, legislation, speeches and official correspondence as well as song lyrics and musical references. “Throughout his career, Gibson has challenged us to look at the world differently through his innovative and vibrant work,” says Ash-Milby. “His inclusive and collaborative approach is a powerful commentary on the influence and persistence of Native American cultures within the United States and globally, making him the ideal representative for the United States at this moment.”

From left to right: IF NOT NOW THEN WHEN (2024); The Enforcer (2024); WE WANT TO BE FREE (2024) Mural: WE ARE MADE BY HISTORY (2024). Photograph by Timothy Schenck.

Contributing to the exhibition catalog is the Institute of American Indian Arts, who will hold its Venice Indigenous Arts School on site of the Biennale. They will have two days of public-facing discussion where IAIA faculty and guest speakers from around the world will bring in terminology in Indigenous languages that reconfigure how Indigenous artwork is currently discussed by getting away from a “Eurocentric way” of speaking. Another day at the U.S. Pavilion, in conjunction with Gibson’s exhibition, will see IAIA students participating in a public performance piece.

Please visit the IAIA website for details.

Through November 24, 2024
La Biennale di Venezia: the space in which to place me Venice, Italy
www.labiennale.org/it
Institute of American Indian Arts
(505) 424-2300, www.iaia.edu