Theaster Gates Black Vessel at Gagosian Chelsea, New York, Oct 10-Dec 19, 2020

Theaster Gates first began to draw widespread attention for his transformation of a derelict block in South Chicago into a community-service center including a library, which might seem surprising for an artist who began − and continues − in ceramics. He delivered a much-admired keynote lecture at the NCECA conference in Milwaukee a few years ago, and more recently his solo exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis included a large gallery lined with wooden shelves on which was displayed an impressive collection of his own pots, some Japanese-influenced, all handsome and straightforward. That archival emphasis was also present in other rooms of the exhibition, one with a collection of racist memorabilia, another a re-creation of the Chicago headquarters of Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of Ebony, the noted magazine of Black culture − an installation that touched on mid-century design but emphasized the power and historical depth of African sculpture and Black imagery.

Ceramics and magazine also feature in his recent exhibition at Gagosian Gallery’s enormous space in the Chelsea gallery district of New York City. Gates retains his allegiance to clay and ceramic forms. The press release for this exhibition opens by quoting him saying, “I always find myself returning to the