Theaster Gates, Jr.

If pressed to describe Theater Gates’ work in one word, it would be “transformative.” In his performances, installations, and urban interventions, Gates—an artist, musician, and “cultural planner,” as well as Director of Arts Program Development for the University of Chicago—transforms spaces, relationships, traditions, and perceptions.

Exploring architecture as a tool for mediation and meditation, Gates draws from both urbanism and art to provide what he terms “moments of interstitial beauty” in Chicago’s neighborhoods. His more recent projects include Cosmology of Yard (Whitney Museum, 2010); Temple, comprised of two neighboring houses which interiors he completely rebuilt of donated and repurposed materials to create spaces for workshops, exhibitions, and other public events on topics of race, art, and politics; and Speculating Darkly, an exhibition that explores his relationship with enslaved potter, Dave Drake (Milwaukee Art Museum). Theaster is currently a Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. His research examines the role of artists in the redevelopment of inner-city neighborhoods with specific interest in ways that he can use commercial development and artistic strategies together to create spatial and social change on Chicago’s West and South Sides.

Presentations

• The Beautiful Struggle: Art and Commerce