Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM to Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The Broad, Los Angeles
Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me is a kaleidoscopic special exhibition filled with vibrant colors, intricate beadwork, towering sculptures, and powerful storytelling, all reflecting the artist’s radical vision for a future in which all people are seen, accepted, and loved. The show comes to The Broad directly from the 60th Venice Biennale (2024), one of the most prestigious exhibitions of visual art in the world, where Gibson made history as the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo show at the US Pavilion. Gibson’s practice celebrates individuals and communities who have maintained their dignity and traditions in impossible circumstances, centering the resilience present in the legacies of Indigenous makers. He juxtaposes a variety of texts, from foundational legal documents to quotes from civil rights activists to pop song lyrics, combining American, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ histories with references to popular subcultures, literature, and global artistic traditions. About The Exhibition Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me is Gibson’s first solo museum show in Southern California. The exhibition borrows its title from the Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier’s poem “Ȟe Sápa,” which contemplates Indigeneity, identity, and place using a playful geometric format. Across prismatic murals, bold paintings and sculptures, and an electrifying video installation, Gibson honors the multiplicity of identity. Gibson’s work reflects his admiration and respect for the generations of Indigenous makers who have come before him, situating his work within art histories that have previously excluded Native artists, and in the footsteps of postwar painters and printmakers such as Corita Kent, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Andy Warhol. Gibson uses recognizable language and images to challenge preconceived assumptions and stereotypes. Our New Acquisitions The Broad has acquired Gibson’s 2024 painting THE RETURNED MALE STUDENT FAR TOO FREQUENTLY GOES BACK TO THE RESERVATION AND FALLS INTO THE OLD CUSTOM OF LETTING HIS HAIR GROW LONG, which was first presented at the Venice Biennale. Incorporating his signature use of patterned text, radiating color, and glass beads, the painting directly quotes a letter written in 1902 by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to a school superintendent in Central California, urging Native school children to cut their hair and assimilate into white Eurocentric modes of dress and appearance. The painting transforms historical oppression into both an opposition to tyranny and a celebration of cultural identity. Gibson first presented She Never Dances Alone, The Broad's second acquisition, with Times Square Arts where the work occupied over 60 digital billboards in Times Square, immersing viewers in the psychedelic experience of watching Sarah Ortegon HighWalking (Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho), wearing jingle dresses of her own making, multiplying seemingly infinitely while dancing to the song “Sisters” by the First Nations electronic music group, the Halluci Nation. The nine-channel video installation presents Ortegon HighWalking engaging traditional Jingle Dancing, originated by the Ojibewea tribe over a century ago, during a time when Indigenous cultures were suppressed and dancing was outlawed. The Jingle Dance continues to be performed by women on the intertribal powwow circuit, with dancing as a mode of reaching out to ancestors for healing and strength. Describing the work, Gibson said he wanted to “draw attention to the importance and strength of Indigenous women.”