Jeffrey Gibson
This Is Our House belongs to one of the most important bodies of work Gibson has produced: the beaded punching bags. A found Everlast vinyl bag, its brand logo preserved and incorporated, is encased in thousands of glass and plastic beads worked in the geometric chevron patterns drawn from Choctaw textile traditions, then finished with cascading layers of acrylic fringe in hot pink, neon green, teal, and black. The object retains its full weight and presence as a punching bag; it does not become decorative. The collision is the point: athletic aggression and Indigenous ceremonial adornment occupy the same form, each refusing to give way to the other. The title announces the work's territorial claim plainly. Made in 2014, this piece preceded Gibson's major institutional recognition and represents the format at its most assured, the visual intensity of the beadwork at full chromatic force against the industrial object beneath.
Provenance
Marc Straus Gallery, New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.