Jeffrey Gibson, Freedom, 2013. Courtesy National Gallery Museum.
Exhibitions that explore cultural identity as well as issues of race and gender are rarely as visually compelling and as much fun as “Said the Pigeon to the Squirrel,” a survey of recent works by Jeffrey Gibson. In one series of 3-D paintings, Gibson examines his Native American heritage (Choctaw/Cherokee) and gay identity through colorful hard-edge abstract paintings on deer hide mounted in found antique mirror frames. Among the most arresting works on view is Freedom (2013), a large travois, or wheel-less cart made of tipi poles, like the kind that Plains Indians used to drag their belongings from one settlement to another. Gibson’s cargo, however, is a large crate covered in deer hide elaborately decorated with colorful painted triangles and further adorned with glass and quartz beading.