# Gio Swaby URL: https://vielmetter.com/artists/gio-swaby/ Represented by Vielmetter Los Angeles Gio Swaby is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the intersections of Blackness and womanhood. Swaby’s mother, Judy Carey-Swaby, taught her to sew as a young girl and she now creates portraits using a range of textile-based techniques. Swaby’s work is included in collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas and more. **Gio Swaby** (b. 1991) was born and raised in the Bahamas and is currently based in Toronto, Canada. Swaby was recently the subject of her first solo museum exhibition in 2023, *Gio Swaby: Fresh Up*, at the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition, co-organized by Katherine Pill, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg and Melinda Watt, Chair and Christa C. Mayer Thurman Curator of Textiles, Art Institute of Chicago, it traveled to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. Swaby’s work has been included in group exhibitions at Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, Jacksonville, FL; Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN; Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; African American Museum, Philadelphia, PA; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Kemper Museum, Kansas City, MO; Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA; National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas; Kunsthaus Alte Mühle, Schmallenberg, Germany; among others. Swaby’s work is included in collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum; the Speed Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; among others. ## Exhibitions - [Andrea BowersLavaughan JenkinsMario JoyceRobert PruittDeborah RobertsGio SwabyKiriakos Tompolidis inIcons, Archetypes, and Portraits](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/icons-archetypes-and-portraits.md): November 6, 2025 — January 25, 2026 · North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND · Artists: Andrea Bowers, Lavaughan Jenkins, Mario Joyce, Robert Pruitt, Gio Swaby, Deborah Roberts, Kiriakos Tompolidis - [Gio Swaby: How We Go](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/gio-swaby-2025.md): July 19 — August 30, 2025 · Gallery I · Artists: Gio Swaby ## Biography 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](https://burnaway.org/magazine/gio-swaby-love-drawn-through-the-eye-of-a-needle/)) Tenorio-Pearl, Gracia. "Gio Swaby's Resistance Through Joy," National Gallery Of Canada, February 26 ([Link](https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/your-collection/gio-swabys-resistance-through-joy)) 2024 Armstrong, Byron. “Gio Swaby in ‘Focus’ at Art Toronto," Whitehot Magazine, October ([Link](https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/in-focus-at-art-toronto/6613)) 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](https://www.nshoremag.com/arts-culture/artist-gio-swabys-first-solo-show-brings-stunning-fabric-portraits-to-the-peabody-essex-museum/)) Whyte, Murray. “At Peabody Essex Museum, Gio Swaby’s Virtuosic Portraits of Black Women in Thread and Fabric," The Boston Globe, August 23 ([Link](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/24/arts/peabody-essex-museum-gio-swabys-virtuosic-portraits-black-women-thread-fabric/)) Edquist, Grace. "Gio Swaby’s Stitched Portraits Reveal the Beauty of the Undone," Vogue, June 8 ([Link](https://www.vogue.com/article/gio-swaby)) 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](https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/an-ode-to-black-women-gio-swaby-fresh-up-art-institute/)) Belmont, Sarah. "Gio Swaby’s First Museum Solo Show is a Celebration of Blackness and Womanhood," ARTnews, April 14 ([Link](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/gio-swaby-art-institute-of-chicago-fresh-up-1234664293/)) 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](https://art.newcity.com/2023/04/11/styling-as-a-form-of-resistance-a-review-of-gio-swaby-fresh-up-at-the-art-institute-of-chicago/)) Team EBONY. “Amazing Exhibits by Black Artists to Check out This Spring and Summer," EBONY, April 10 ([Link](https://www.ebony.com/amazing-exhibits-by-black-artists-spring-summer-2023/)) "Gio Swaby: Freshen Up," The Art Institute Chicago, April ([Link](https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9869/gio-swaby-fresh-up)) 2022 Mothes, Kate. "Embodying Vibrance and Joy, Gio Swaby’s Patterned Portraits Celebrate Blackness and Womanhood," Colossal, December 28 ([Link](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/12/gio-swaby-portraits/)) Jones, Okla. “Visual Artist Gio Swaby Wants to Leave a Legacy of Love through Her Work," Essence, September 27 ([Link](https://www.essence.com/art/gio-swaby/)) Jones, Okla. "8 Must-See Black Art Exhibitions To Check Out This Summer," Essence, September 7 ([Link](https://www.essence.com/art/8-black-art-exhibitions-summer-2022/)) 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](https://stpetecatalyst.com/mfa-artist-gio-swaby-tells-stories-through-textiles/)) Hannah-Jones, Nikole. “Nikole Hannah-Jones and Gio Swaby on Portraiture That Uplifts Black Women," Literary Hub, May 26 ([Link](https://lithub.com/nikole-hannah-jones-and-gio-swaby-on-portraiture-that-uplifts-black-women/)) Zhekova, Dobrina. “Gio Swaby’s Textile Portraits Are a Love Letter to Black Womanhood," Harper’s Bazaar, April 6 ([Link](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a39629027/gio-swaby-textile-portraits-are-a-love-letter-to-black-womanhood/)) 2021 Long, Stephanie. "The Black Vanguards Who Inspired Us In 2021," Refinery29, December 16 ([Link](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/12/10764476/black-authors-artists-2021)) 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](https://news.artnet.com/market/untitled-miami-beach-2021-2041541)) 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](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/gio-swaby-1973064)) Louis, Pierre-Antoine. "A Love Letter to Black Women," The NY Times, April 10 ([Link](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/10/us/a-love-letter-to-black-women.html)) **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