b. 1973, USA

Theaster Gates Biography

Theaster Gates is an American conceptual artist who works at the intersection of urban planning, object-making and performance. He was born in Chicago, where he still lives and works.

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Much of Gates' work is characterised by the use of discarded everyday materials deeply rooted in African American history and culture, such as tar, fire hoses and shoeshine stands. In his iconic 'Civil Tapestry' series, the artist sourced strips of decommissioned fire hoses from his neighbourhood in Chicago and composed them into abstract paintings. These works allude to the fire hoses used to subdue protestors who were marching as part of the ongoing struggles for African American civil rights during the 1963 Children's Crusade civil rights march in Birmingham, Alabama.

Gates is committed to blurring the lines between art and community activism. He founded Rebuild Foundation—a non-profit organisation focused on culturally driven redevelopment and affordable space initiatives in under-resourced communities. The Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative (DA+HC) and the Stony Island Arts Bank are the most ambitious and celebrated among the projects initiated and run by the foundation. Having achieved enormous impact rehabilitating the long-downtrodden neighbourhoods on Chicago's South Side, these projects established Gates as one of the most fast-rising stars in the international art world.

For DA+HC, Gates restored dilapidated buildings and transformed them into alternative cultural institutions, houses and meeting spaces. In 2013, Gates convinced the city of Chicago to sell him the Stony Island Trust & Savings Bank Building, days before its scheduled demolition, in exchange for a commitment to reactivate the space with art and culture. Serving as 'a repository for African American culture', as Gates described in a press release, the building now houses a precious archive of books, vinyl records and artefacts representing the legacy of the local community. Both projects are part of what the artist described to Art in America as a 'circular ecological system', since they are financed by the sale of artworks created with the raw materials salvaged from the derelict architectures.

Gates' socially-engaged practice is fundamental to his oeuvre. In an interview with Ocula Magazine in 2017, Gates reflected, 'The silos between art and the social are contrived. ... The work I do is one work, one impulse, one imperative, one permission, different forms. It is always about affect, intention and aesthetics.' He has received numerous awards, including the Nasher Prize (2018), the Kurt Schwitters Prize (2017) and Artes Mundi 6 (2015).

Sophia Bingqin Cao | Ocula | 2017

Theaster Gates
featured artworks

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Black Square Study #1 by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork sculpture
Theaster Gates Black Square Study #1, 2020 Bound Jet Magazines and aluminium shelves
143.4 x 137.5 x 17 cm
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The Voulkos Anthem by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork works on paper, sculpture
Theaster Gates The Voulkos Anthem, 2021 Bisque fired stoneware and paint, Shibori fabric, steel
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Spike Study 2 by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork sculpture
Theaster Gates Spike Study 2, 2021 Stoneware and bronze glaze
122 x 55 x 55 cm
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Gold by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork sculpture
Theaster Gates Gold, 2019 Mirrored tile, wood, metal and rotator mechanism
209.5 x 122 x 155 cm
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Ghost by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork works on paper, sculpture
Theaster Gates Ghost, 2021 Bisque fired stoneware with paint
134.6 x 66 x 66 cm
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Preservation Exercise #8 (Pour) by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork sculpture
Theaster Gates Preservation Exercise #8 (Pour), 2022 High fired stoneware and tar on oolite stone plinth
95.3 x 76.2 x 50.8 cm
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Nump by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork sculpture
Theaster Gates Nump, 2020 Bound books, aluminium shelf
24 x 217.1 x 16 cm
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Whyte Painting (NGGRWR 0019) by Theaster Gates contemporary artwork sculpture
Theaster Gates Whyte Painting (NGGRWR 0019), 2010 Porcelain, composite gold, wood
66 x 81.2 x 12.7 cm
Mendes Wood DM Contact Gallery
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Theaster Gates
recent exhibitions

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Theaster Gates
represented by

Gagosian contemporary art gallery in 980 Madison Avenue, New York, USA
Gagosian Athens, Basel, Beverly Hills, Geneva, Gstaad +6
White Cube contemporary art gallery in Bermondsey, London, United Kingdom
White Cube Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, West Palm Beach
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Theaster Gates
in Ocula Magazine

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Theaster Gates
in Ocula Advisory

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