Gio Swaby
- Born in Nassau, The Bahamas
- Lives and works in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- 2022
- MFA, OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario
- 2016
- BFA, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, British Columbia
- 2012
- The College of The Bahamas, Nassau, New Providence
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2025
- "How We Go," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- 2023
- "Gio Swaby: Fresh Up," Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
- "Gio Swaby: Fresh Up," Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Il
- "Gio Swaby: I Will Blossom Anyway," Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY
- 2022
- "Gio Swaby: Fresh Up," Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, St Petersburg, FL
- 2021
- "Both Sides of The Sun," Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY
- "Another Side to Me," 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK
- 2018
- "Rooted," The Current, Nassau, Bahamas
- 2017
- "We All Know Each Other," Unit/Pitt Projects, Vancouver, BC
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2026
- "Icons, Archetypes, and Portraits: From the Mythic to the Everyday," North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
- 2025
- "Change Makers: A Dedicated Exhibition of Prints from Gallery Artists," Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY
- 2024
- "Art Toronto," Claire Oliver Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
- "Crosscurrents," Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
- "Domestic Idols," Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
- Expo Chicago, Claire Oliver Galler, Chicago, IL
- "The Experience of Expression," Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN
- "Fabric of a Nation," Cummer Museum, Jacksonville, FL
- "Shared Vision," African American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
- "Thread: Making Patterns," Kemper Museum, Kansas City, MO
- 2023
- "Daughter/ Mother/ Ancestor: Threads of Connection," Indianapolis Museum of Art, Galleries at Newfields, Indianapolis, IN
- Expo Chicago, Claire Oliver Galler, Chicago, IL
- "Fabric of a Nation," Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
- 2022
- Expo Chicago, Claire Oliver Galler, Chicago, IL
- "National Exhibition 10," National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
- 2021
- "Fabric of a Nation," Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
- "Rituals of Resilience," Minneapolis Institute of Artt, Minneapolis, MN
- "Untitled Art Fair," Claire Oliver Gallery, Miami Beach, FL
- 2020
- "Four Now," Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY
- "Net Worth," United Contemporary, Toronto, ON
- 2018
- "Die Textile: Stoffsuche," Kunsthaus Alte Mühle, Schmallenberg, Germany
- 2017
- "Übersee: Cuba and The Bahamas," Halle 14, Leipzip, Germany
- 2016
- "National Exhibition 8," National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
- 2015
- "Map of the New Art," Giorgio Cini Foundation, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy
- "Nassau Calling," HilgerBROTKunsthalle, Vienna, Austria
- 2014
- "National Exhibition 7," National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
Bibliography
- 2026
- Willis Whylly, Natalie. "Gio Swaby: Love, Drawn Through The Eye Of A Needle," Burnaway Magazine, April 28 (Link)
- Tenorio-Pearl, Gracia. "Gio Swaby’s Resistance Through Joy," National Gallery Of Canada, February 26 (Link)
- 2024
- Armstrong, Byron. “Gio Swaby in ‘Focus’ at Art Toronto," Whitehot Magazine, October (Link)
- Hanna, Yolanda. “Gio Swaby – Visual Artist," Up and Away: Bahamasair Inflight Magazine, April
- 2023
- Pecci, Alexandra. "Artist Gio Swaby’s First Solo Show Brings Stunning Fabric Portraits to the Peabody Essex Museum," Northshore Magazine, October 4 (Link)
- Whyte, Murray. “At Peabody Essex Museum, Gio Swaby’s Virtuosic Portraits of Black Women in Thread and Fabric," The Boston Globe, August 23 (Link)
- Edquist, Grace. "Gio Swaby’s Stitched Portraits Reveal the Beauty of the Undone," Vogue, June 8 (Link)
- Mothes, Kate. "Gio Swaby Embarks on an Exploration of Self-Love and Acceptance in Her Vibrant Textile Portraits," Colossal, May 23
- WayneGuite, Jacqueline. “An Ode to Black Women," Chicago Reader, April 19 (Link)
- Belmont, Sarah. "Gio Swaby’s First Museum Solo Show is a Celebration of Blackness and Womanhood," ARTnews, April 14 (Link)
- Rigou, Vasia. “Styling as a Form of Resistance: A Review of Gio Swaby ‘Fresh up’ at the Art Institute of Chicago," Newcity Art, April 11 (Link)
- Team EBONY. “Amazing Exhibits by Black Artists to Check out This Spring and Summer," EBONY, April 10 (Link)
- "Gio Swaby: Freshen Up," The Art Institute Chicago, April (Link)
- 2022
- Mothes, Kate. "Embodying Vibrance and Joy, Gio Swaby’s Patterned Portraits Celebrate Blackness and Womanhood," Colossal, December 28 (Link)
- Jones, Okla. “Visual Artist Gio Swaby Wants to Leave a Legacy of Love through Her Work," Essence, September 27 (Link)
- Jones, Okla. "8 Must-See Black Art Exhibitions To Check Out This Summer," Essence, September 7 (Link)
- Holliday, Kayla. “Fiber Optics," Vanity Fair, June
- DeYoung, Bill. “‘Fresh Up’: MFA Artist Gio Swaby Tells Personal Stories through Textiles," St Pete Catalyst, May 27 (Link)
- Hannah-Jones, Nikole. “Nikole Hannah-Jones and Gio Swaby on Portraiture That Uplifts Black Women," Literary Hub, May 26 (Link)
- Zhekova, Dobrina. “Gio Swaby’s Textile Portraits Are a Love Letter to Black Womanhood," Harper’s Bazaar, April 6 (Link)
- 2021
- Long, Stephanie. "The Black Vanguards Who Inspired Us In 2021," Refinery29, December 16 (Link)
- Cascone, Sarah. “In Miami, Buyers Hit the Beach for Untitled Art Fair-to Gallerists’ Palpable Relief. Here’s What’s Sold so Far," Artnet News, November 30 (Link)
- Cascone, Sarah. "Meet Artist Gio Swaby, the 29-Year-Old Phenom Whose Sold-Out Debut Boasted Buyers Including Eight Museums (and Roxane Gay)," Artnet, June 4 (Link)
- Louis, Pierre-Antoine. "A Love Letter to Black Women," The NY Times, April 10 (Link)
Selected Awards & Grants
- 2024
- Canada Council for the Arts, Explore and Create: Concept to Realization
- 2023
- Canada Council for the Arts, Explore and Create: Research and Creation
- 2022
- Canada Council for the Arts, Explore and Create: Concept to Realization
- OCAD University, Dean’s Scholarship
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- 2021
- BC Arts Council Scholarship 2021
- Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship
- OCAD University, Dean’s Scholarship
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- 2020
- British Columbia Arts Council, Individual Arts Grant: Visual Artist
- British Columbia Arts Council, Scholarship
- Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship
- OCAD University, Dean’s Scholarship
Public Collections
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
- Central Bank of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
- Harper House, Detroit, MI
- Indianapolis Museum of Art Galleries at Newfields, Indianapolis, IN
- Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
- Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
- MSU Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, MI
- Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, MA
- National Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
- National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
- Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
- RBC Art Collection, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
- The Baha Mar Collection, Nassau, Bahamas
- Weisman Art Museum , Minneapolis, MN