ARTISTS
Theaster Gates: Unto Thee
The Smart Museum of Art presents Theaster Gates's first solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago.
A self-designated 鈥渒eeper of objects,鈥� the artist Theaster Gates investigates the value of things and their potential to hold layered meanings. He has been dedicated to investing in the care of these objects as a way to nurture stories and voices 鈥� often Black stories and voices 鈥� largely overlooked by history or institutional structures.
The exhibition Theaster Gates: Unto Thee is rooted in several core collections of objects that have been part of Gates鈥檚 artistic practice which he acquired through the University of Chicago, where he is Professor of Visual Arts. Ranging from the Department of Art History鈥檚 glass lantern slides and display vitrines from the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (formerly the Oriental Institute), to paint-stained concrete from the floors of Midway Studios and wooden pews made for Bond Chapel, all objects have been discarded and identified as no longer needed. In creating new works with them over the years 鈥� and, as will be done again, in new installations at the Smart 鈥� Gates challenges that notion of stasis by instead excavating more histories, more stories. These installations will be accompanied by Gates鈥檚 more recent work including paintings, ceramics, film, and pieces incorporating the archive of the Johnson Publishing Company.
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The Smart Museum of Art presents Theaster Gates's first solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago.
A self-designated 鈥渒eeper of objects,鈥� the artist Theaster Gates investigates the value of things and their potential to hold layered meanings. He has been dedicated to investing in the care of these objects as a way to nurture stories and voices 鈥� often Black stories and voices 鈥� largely overlooked by history or institutional structures.
The exhibition Theaster Gates: Unto Thee is rooted in several core collections of objects that have been part of Gates鈥檚 artistic practice which he acquired through the University of Chicago, where he is Professor of Visual Arts. Ranging from the Department of Art History鈥檚 glass lantern slides and display vitrines from the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (formerly the Oriental Institute), to paint-stained concrete from the floors of Midway Studios and wooden pews made for Bond Chapel, all objects have been discarded and identified as no longer needed. In creating new works with them over the years 鈥� and, as will be done again, in new installations at the Smart 鈥� Gates challenges that notion of stasis by instead excavating more histories, more stories. These installations will be accompanied by Gates鈥檚 more recent work including paintings, ceramics, film, and pieces incorporating the archive of the Johnson Publishing Company.
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In what is being billed as the 鈥渇irst solo museum exhibition in his hometown of Chicago.鈥�
鈥淯nto Thee,鈥� Gates鈥� first solo museum show in Chicago, builds around materials connected to his time spent at UChicago, and many of the artworks on show are made with discarded or obsolete materials from its campus.
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