Later this year, Indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson will present his U.S. Pavilion show from the 2024 Venice Biennale at The Broad in Los Angeles. “Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me” will be the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in Southern California, and run from May 10th through September 28, 2025. Featuring over 30 works, the exhibition has been adapted from Gibson’s historic presentation at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024—where he became the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo exhibition.
Gibson—a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent—draws from a wide range of influences. These include Indigenous artistic traditions, 19th- and 20th-century American political documents, and pop music. His kaleidoscopic environments challenge historical narratives while celebrating communal strength and joy.
The Broad has also acquired Gibson’s THE RETURNED MALE STUDENT FAR TOO FREQUENTLY GOES BACK TO THE RESERVATION AND FALLS INTO THE OLD CUSTOM OF LETTING HIS HAIR GROW LONG (2024), a painting first exhibited at the Venice Biennale. Featuring Gibson’s signature text-based design along with glass beadwork, the work incorporates a 1902 quote from the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Gibson reclaims this language, turning oppression into a proud message of resistance and affirmation.
“Developing this project for the Venice Biennale made me interrogate my relationship with the United States as an Indigenous person,” said Gibson, who was named one of Artsy’s most influential artists of 2024. “I wanted to showcase that complexity while celebrating the resilience and joy present in the liberation stories and legacies of Indigenous makers. The show is about turning margin and center inside out.” Though his U.S. pavilion show was not initially intended to travel, the artist sees bringing the exhibition to The Broad as a chance to show it to a greater number of Americans, he told The Art Newspaper.
Other key works in the exhibition include a towering ceramic sculpture titled WE WANT TO BE FREE (2024), referencing the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the mural BIRDS FLYING HIGH YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL (2024), inspired by Nina Simone’s 1965 anthem for justice and freedom.
“Jeffrey Gibson imbues unabashed radiant color into his paintings, murals, sculpture, and video installations, signaling through his art that frank examination of difficult truths can be affirmative expressions of hope, identity, and beauty,” said Joanne Heyler, founding director of The Broad. “We are proud to bring this groundbreaking work to Los Angeles, directly from the Venice Biennale.”
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