12-05-2025
Ahead of a Major Show, Artist Jeffrey Gibson Reflects on His Meteoric Rise
The Venice Art Bienniale is not known for its crowds—the city is simply too big, and the dozens of exhibitions are too spread out to ever result in a critical mass.
And yet last year, during the 60th edition's opening day, a sea of people jostling and craning and taking photos had gathered outside the US Pavilion. There, the artist Jeffrey Gibson had covered the building's staid, Palladian facade with bright red panels and equally vivid geometric designs. In the building's courtyard, standing on and alongside a multitiered platform that Gibson designed, a team of 26 Native American Jingle Dancers moved in unison, the metal cones on their traditional, brightly colored regalia tinkling in rhythm. As the performance ended, Gibson took the stage to applause and cheers.
