"My work operates in the context of understanding love as liberation—a healing and restorative force. These pieces celebrate personal style, vulnerability, strength, beauty, individuality, and imperfections."
“Fresh up” is a Bahamian phrase often used as a way to compliment someone’s style or confident way of being. Swaby remarks, “It holds a lot of positivity and joy. It also speaks to the tone of confidence and power that I want to create with these works.” Personal texts from the artist introduce each series and punctuate the visitor experience in the exhibition.
Gio Swaby: Fresh Up was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg and the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is made possible by the generosity of Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation and Leslie and Angus Littlejohn. We thank James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Chip and Susan Robie and Timothy T. Hilton as supporters of the Exhibition Innovation Fund. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.
