The Wick List

Viewing Jeffrey Gibson brings pattern power to London

The Wick Culture - Jeffrey Gibson, 'Untitled Figure 1', 2022. Plastic bone pipe beads, fringe, glass beads, artificial sinew, tin cones, sea glass, acrylic felt, steel armature and powder coat varnish, 181.5 x 118 x 83 cm (71 1/2 x 46 1/2 x 32 5/8in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Todd-White Art Photography.

Above Jeffrey Gibson, ‘Untitled Figure 1’, 2022. Plastic bone pipe beads, fringe, glass beads, artificial sinew, tin cones, sea glass, acrylic felt, steel armature and powder coat varnish, 181.5 x 118 x 83 cm (71 1/2 x 46 1/2 x 32 5/8in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Todd-White Art Photography.

The Wick Culture - Jeffrey Gibson, 'SPEAKING TO THE TREES AND KISSING THE GROUND', 2023. Found punching bag, expanding foam, acrylic felt, glass beads and artificial sinew, 167.6 x 43.2 x 43.2cm (66 x 17 x 17in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

Above Jeffrey Gibson, ‘SPEAKING TO THE TREES AND KISSING THE GROUND’, 2023. Found punching bag, expanding foam, acrylic felt, glass beads and artificial sinew, 167.6 x 43.2 x 43.2cm (66 x 17 x 17in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

The Wick Culture - Jeffrey Gibson, 'HOLD ON TO MY HAND', 2023. Acrylic on canvas, vintage beaded elements, vintage pinback button, glass beads, acrylic felt and nylon thread in a custom painted frame, 178.4 x 153cm (70 1/4 x 60 1/4in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

Above Jeffrey Gibson, ‘HOLD ON TO MY HAND’, 2023. Acrylic on canvas, vintage beaded elements, vintage pinback button, glass beads, acrylic felt and nylon thread in a custom painted frame, 178.4 x 153cm (70 1/4 x 60 1/4in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

The Wick Culture - Jeffrey Gibson, 'I FEEL REAL WHEN YOU HOLD ME', 2023. Acrylic on canvas, vintage pinback button, vintage beaded element, glass beads, acrylic felt and nylon thread in a custom painted frame, 178.4 x 153cm (70 1/4 x 60 1/4in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

Above Jeffrey Gibson, ‘I FEEL REAL WHEN YOU HOLD ME’, 2023. Acrylic on canvas, vintage pinback button, vintage beaded element, glass beads, acrylic felt and nylon thread in a custom painted frame, 178.4 x 153cm (70 1/4 x 60 1/4in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

The Wick Culture - Jeffrey Gibson, 'I NEED TO BE IN YOUR ARMS', 2023. Acrylic paint on canvas, acrylic velvet, acrylic felt, glass beads, druzy crystal, pin back buttons, artificial sinew, nylon thread, cotton canvas and cotton rope inset in a custom frame, 161.5 x 136cm (63 5/8 x 53 1/2in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

Above Jeffrey Gibson, ‘I NEED TO BE IN YOUR ARMS’, 2023. Acrylic paint on canvas, acrylic velvet, acrylic felt, glass beads, druzy crystal, pin back buttons, artificial sinew, nylon thread, cotton canvas and cotton rope inset in a custom frame, 161.5 x 136cm (63 5/8 x 53 1/2in). Copyright Jeffrey Gibson. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York. Photo by Max Yawney.

Jeffrey Gibson: Dreaming Of How It’s Meant To Be

Stephen Friedman Gallery, 5-6 Cork Street, W1
19 January – 24 February 2024

Jeffrey Gibson will be the name on everybody’s lips in 2024 thanks to a bumper crop of upcoming exhibitions. The Colorado-born, Choctaw-Cherokee artist is kicking things off with a solo show at Stephen Friedman Gallery on 19 January before opening a second at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich in February, alongside having work in the Barbican Centre’s group exhibition, Unravel, opening in the same month. In April, Gibson will also be the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo pavilion at the Venice Biennale. If you don’t already recognise his electric-hued, mixed media works, you soon will.

Gibson’s geometric sculptures and paintings take cues from North American Indigenous aesthetics and craft. He uses artisanal beadwork, leatherwork and quilting to tell stories about subjects that have been hidden from view, while referencing everything from club culture, queer theory, politics and art history. Dreaming Of How it’s Meant To Be at Stephen Friedman Gallery shows the breadth and vibrancy of his work, while introducing a new series of mixed media pieces that are his most expressive to date. Gestural sweeps of paint, made with his own hands, counterpoint rigid graphic shapes and rich patterns, imbuing the works with a unique tension. We can’t wait to see them up close.