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Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing presents 15 works at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., surveying a decade of the artist’s multidisciplinary practice. The exhibition brings together paintings, textile works and garment-like sculptures shaped by Indigenous heritage, queer iconography and music, and is scheduled to remain open through March 13.
Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing, an exhibition of 15 works spanning the past decade of the artist’s multidisciplinary practice, is on view at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., through March 13. The show brings together paintings, textile collages and garment-like sculptures that explore identity, lineage and cultural translation, according to an exhibition report by Colossal.
Gibson’s works combine a wide range of materials and techniques, including acrylic paint, fabric, glass beads and artificial sinew. The exhibition highlights his use of pattern and queer iconography alongside references to his Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee heritage. The objects vary in form, from abstract paintings to sculptural works incorporating textiles and other materials.
Among the works identified in the report is “Dewdrops in the Garden” (2025), an acrylic painting incorporating glass beads and artificial sinew in a custom wood frame. “Don’t Make Me Over” (2024) is a larger, garment-like construction made with layered fabrics, beads, sequins and other materials, installed on pine tipi poles. These examples show the range of media represented in the exhibition.
Music is a recurring influence in Gibson’s practice. Colossal reports that he incorporates song lyrics into tapestry-like wall hangings and three-dimensional works, and that the exhibition’s title comes from a 1971 interview with Marvin Gaye. The show is installed in the Irene and Richard Frary Gallery at the Bloomberg Center. Gibson is scheduled to give a talk in the Sam Gilliam Lecture series on November 12.
Gibson’s Media and Cultural References
The exhibition offers viewers a chance to see how Gibson’s ideas travel across painting, textiles and sculpture, rather than encountering those parts of his practice in isolation. Its 15 works span a decade, making the show a survey of recurring concerns and materials rather than a presentation limited to a single medium or recent project.
Its references to Indigenous traditions and queer iconography also place questions of identity and cultural translation at the center of the display. Gibson’s use of materials such as glass beads and jingle cones connects contemporary art-making with objects and practices that have long histories in Native American clothing and ceremonial garments, as described in the exhibition report. The exhibition provides a public setting for those connections without reducing the work to a single cultural reference.
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A Decade of Cross-Media Work
Gibson’s practice, as presented in the report, brings together abstract, often prismatic acrylic paintings with textile-based works and sculptural forms. He works with varied fabrics and materials, sometimes applying beads across large surfaces. The combination of media allows pattern, text and references to clothing to appear across different kinds of objects.
The show’s title draws on Gaye’s description of his 1971 album What’s Going On. In the interview wording quoted by Colossal, Gaye said, “I think I’ve got a real love thing going. I love people, I love life, and I love nature, and I can’t see why other people can’t be like that.” That reference connects the exhibition title to Gibson’s ongoing interest in music and to the report’s description of the show as oriented toward hope, joy and acceptance. Gibson’s separate traveling exhibition, They Teach Love, is also reported to be on view at the University of Oregon through March 7.
““I think I’ve got a real love thing going. I love people, I love life, and I love nature, and I can’t see why other people can’t be like that.””
— Marvin Gaye, in a 1971 interview quoted by Colossal
Details Beyond the Exhibition Report
The available report does not provide a full checklist of all 15 works, detailed information about the exhibition’s organization, or statements from Gibson or the venue about the selection. It also does not specify the precise dates within the decade covered by the survey beyond identifying individual works from 2024 and 2025.
The report gives the exhibition’s closing date as March 13 but does not state whether hours, access arrangements or programming could change. Visitors should check the Bloomberg Center’s current information before planning a visit.
Exhibition and Lecture Dates
A Real Love Thing is scheduled to remain on view at the Bloomberg Center through March 13. Gibson’s Sam Gilliam Lecture series talk is scheduled for November 12; the source report does not give further details about its format or public access.
The report also lists Gibson’s traveling exhibition They Teach Love at the University of Oregon through March 7. These dates offer separate opportunities to see the artist’s work, though the available information does not describe how the two exhibitions differ in scope.
Key Questions
Where is Jeffrey Gibson: A Real Love Thing?
The exhibition is at the Irene and Richard Frary Gallery in Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C.
How many works are in the exhibition?
The exhibition includes 15 works, surveying a decade of Gibson’s multidisciplinary practice.
What kinds of work are on view?
The show includes paintings, textile collages and garment-like sculptures, with materials such as fabrics, glass beads and artificial sinew.
Why is the exhibition called A Real Love Thing?
The title comes from a 1971 interview with Marvin Gaye, in which he described his feelings about the album What’s Going On. Gibson’s practice also draws on music, including song lyrics in some works.
When does the exhibition close?
The report says the exhibition is scheduled to remain open through March 13. Check the Bloomberg Center for current visitor information.
Source: thisiscolossal.com
