The artistic and multifaceted practice of theaster gates (USA, 1973) includes sculptures, installations, performances and architectural interventions. An important aspect of his work involves the rehabilitating and revitalizing abandoned buildings in Chicago's South Side neighborhoods. These spaces, which include Dorchester Projects and the Stony Island Arts Bank, have become catalysts for creative and cultural encounters and now also serve as storage for thousands of objects. Taking things that have been set aside from libraries, archives and collections, the artist asks us to consider what it means to invest objects with new meanings through the simple acts of conversation, conservation, creation and care.
The Assembly Hall exhibition brings a series of the artist's collections into a museum context for the first time. The Walker's galleries transform into a total work of art, transposing his collections and studio environment into four immersive rooms, each infused with his poetic interventions. Included are selections from 60.000 art/architecture history slides from the Collection: the University of Chicago Glass Lantern; books and periodicals, furniture, and other items from the Johnson Publishing Company's 15.000-piece collection; a range of objects from the Negrobilia collection of Ana J. and Edward J. Williams; and ceramic vases and other items that the artist has made or collected over the past decade. Seen as a whole, these elements speak to Gates' "deep belief in the objects and stories of African-American material culture" and they capture moments of celebration and inspiration, exclusion and marginalization, renewal and invention.
In 2017 Gates presented his first outdoor commission, Black Vessel for a Saint (2017), in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Composed of bespoke black brick, the temple-like structure provides a space for gathering and reflection as well as a permanent home for a salvaged statue of Saint Laurence, the patron saint of librarians and archivists.
Curators: Victoria Sung, Assistant Curator, Visual Arts; with William Hernández Luege, curator, Visual Arts.
Cover image: Selection from the Johnson Publishing Company's collection of Theaster Gates and artworks at Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago. Photo: David Sampson, courtesy of the artist and Rebuild Foundation.
