Artist
Theaster Gates
b. 1973, Chicago, Illinois, USA · American · Based in Chicago, Illinois, USA
- MS in Urban Planning, Iowa State University (2006)
- MA in Religion/Fine Arts, University of Cape Town (1998)
- BS, Iowa State (1996)
- Social Practice
- Clay Ceramics
- Tar and Roofing Felt
- Reclaimed Wood
Theaster Gates combines sculpture, ceramics, architecture, performance and urban development in projects that treat cultural infrastructure as an artistic medium. Through the Rebuild Foundation and projects on Chicago’s South Side, he has transformed abandoned buildings into archives, libraries and gathering spaces while maintaining a studio practice rooted in clay, tar, wood and salvaged materials.
Sculpture; installation; social practice; ceramics
Gallery Representation
Artist Films
Theaster Gates in "Chicago" - Season 8 | Art21
Art2115 minOfficial source ↗ (opens in a new window)
Whitney Biennial: Theaster Gates: The Black Monks of Mississippi
Whitney Museum of American ArtOfficial source ↗ (opens in a new window)
Major Works
- 2009 onwardDorchester Projects
- 2012Archive House
- 2012Black Cinema House
- 2011 onwardCivil Tapestry series
- 2010sRoofing Exercise
- 2000s onwardClay Vessel works
- 2020Black Vessel
- 2015Sanctum
- 2010sTemple Exercises
- 2018The Listening House
Museums & Public Collections
Interviews & Writing
- Museum-quality video search →RESEARCH QUEUEvideo
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