Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972), a multi-disciplinary artist based in Upstate New York, is a citizen of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and is of Cherokee heritage. He was born in Colorado and spent his childhood in Germany, South Korea, and England. His work reflects his experiences living in multicultural environments and is influenced by Indigenous traditions, queer identity, pop culture, politics, abstract painting, music, and language. He often utilizes objects associated with Indigenous culture and ceremonies such as leather, beadwork, textiles, garments, drums, and metal jingles. His art practice spans across numerous disciplines from abstract painting on hide to meticulously beaded punching bags, sculpture, installation, video art, and live performance. Gibson has received distinguished awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian Institution), the TED Foundation, and the Jerome Hill Foundation. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2019. His work is included in the collections of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Denver Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, National Gallery of Canada, Smithsonian Institution, Nasher Museum of Art, Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, and the Newark Museum of Art.
