{"id":673134,"date":"2026-11-02T23:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/673134\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T23:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:30:12","slug":"jeffrey-gibsons-a-real-love-thing-surveys-a-decade-of-the-artists-multidisciplinary-practice-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/673134\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeffrey Gibson’s ‘A Real Love Thing’ Surveys a Decade of the Artist’s Multidisciplinary Practice \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through abstract, prismatic acrylic paintings to garment-like sculptures and textile collages, Jeffrey Gibson<\/a> explores questions of identity, lineage, and cultural translation. Working across media, the artist intricately beads monumental works<\/a> and incorporates a wide range of fabrics and materials.<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center<\/a> delves into the cross-disciplinary breadth of the artist\u2019s practice throughout the past decade. Fifteen works amplify his interest in pattern, queer iconography, and his Indigenous Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee heritage. Drawing on the early and continuing influence of music, the artist often integrates song lyrics into tapestry-like wall hangings and three-dimensional works.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cDewdrops in the Garden\u201d (2025), acrylic on canvas, glass beads, artificial sinew, inset to custom wood frame, 70 x 80 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth<\/p>\n

Music also inspired the title of the exhibition, which Gibson drew from a 1971 interview with soul artist Marvin Gaye, who described his seminal album What\u2019s Going On by saying, \u201cI think I\u2019ve got a real love thing going. I love people, I love life, and I love nature, and I can\u2019t see why other people can\u2019t be like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting this sentiment, Gibson\u2019s approach is a luminous celebration of Indigenous symbolism and traditional materials, such as jingle cones used in ceremonial garments, tipi poles, and glass beads that have coated bags, moccasins, and other apparel hand-crafted by Native Americans throughout the centuries. The artist also posits a future full of hope, joy, acceptance, and, like Gaye, a love-above-all ethos.<\/p>\n

A Real Love Thing continues through March 13 at the Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., where Gibson will present a talk as part of the esteemed Sam Gilliam Lecture series on November 12. And if you\u2019re near Eugene, Oregon, the artist\u2019s traveling solo exhibition They Teach Love<\/a> is also on view through through March 7 at the University of Oregon.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Detail of \u201cDewdrops in the Garden.\u201d Photo by Poll Bravo\/Johns Hopkins University<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing,\u2019 Irene and Richard Frary Gallery, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 2026. Photo by Poll Bravo\/Johns Hopkins University<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cDon\u2019t Make Me Over\u201d (2024), water-based ink on hand-dyed cotton fabric, canvas, polyester silk, polyester organza, acrylic felt, holographic vinyl, TPU laminated polyester fabric, glass beads, plastic beads, plastic sequins, artificial sinew, nylon thread, brass grommets and fabric weights, installed on pine tipi poles with hide, 79 x 88 x 18 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing,\u2019 Irene and Richard Frary Gallery, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 2026. Photo by Poll Bravo\/Johns Hopkins University<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Detail of \u201cANGEL OF MY SOUL DON\u2019T LET ME GO\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing,\u2019 Irene and Richard Frary Gallery, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 2026. Photo by Poll Bravo\/Johns Hopkins University<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Installation view of \u2018Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing,\u2019 Irene and Richard Frary Gallery, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 2026. Photo by Poll Bravo\/Johns Hopkins University<\/p>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n

Hide advertising<\/p>\n

Save your favorite articles<\/p>\n

Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop<\/a><\/p>\n

Receive members-only newsletter<\/p>\n

Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through abstract, prismatic acrylic paintings to garment-like sculptures and textile collages, Jeffrey Gibson explores questions of identity, lineage,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,167623,308,93,61,128666,60,285134,2283,81600,3023,13110],"class_list":["post-673134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-beads","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-indigenous-culture","tag-ireland","tag-jeffrey-gibson","tag-painting","tag-pattern","tag-sculpture","tag-textiles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}