Theaster Gates
For his Ground Rules series, Gates repurposes gymnasium floorboards from decommissioned schools across the city of Chicago. Reassembled into minimalist compositions, the works at first appear as large abstract paintings. Only the seemingly random lines and shapes of colours – made from the floor tape that once mapped the courts – gesture to the wooden boards’ previous existence. The ground rules are no longer legible, the floors having served their purpose. While visually compelling, the works also offer a critique of the continued underfunding of the city’s disenfranchised communities. Among the indents and scratches that mark the wood is a distinct sense of loss – of demolition and disregard, and of opportunities denied.
b.1973, Chicago
Theaster Gates’ calls himself a potter. The internet calls him a social practice installation artist. In truth, he is many things – an urban planner, activist, university professor, musician, real estate developer, cultural worker, and much else besides. In pottery, a medium with which he is well-versed, he finds a simile to describe all his interests – creating things of value from metaphorical mud. “As a potter,” Gates says, “you learn how to shape the world.” To this end, the artist salvages materials for his projects, both artistic and social (the two frequently coincide) – abandoned buildings, disused fire hoses, junk shop furniture, back issues of magazines. In returning to these forgotten places and objects a studied attention – in creating something new – Gates explores their resonance as social and historical artefacts. Among his most ambitious works is the Rebuild Foundation, a platform that supports cultural development and community transformation in the underserved neighbourhood of Greater Grand Crossing, South Chicago.