“Freedom of Assembly” at White Cube Bermondsey is a new body of work by the Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates who aims to bridge the gap between art and life and catalyse social and economic change through direct artistic agency. His multidisciplinary practice, which he often describes as “critique through collaboration,” includes space development, object making, performance, and critical engagement.As the title of the exhibition suggests, “Freedom of Assembly” is an exploration of the broader implications of the term “assembly” and its use in relation to people, politics, labour, place, memory, the art object as well as the acts of constructing and collecting. In particular, Gates refers to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution which guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.Featuring several new series of sculptures, a large-scale presentation of tar paintings, and a body of work that for the first time foregrounds Gates’ long-term engagement with clay production, “Freedom of Assembly” is a poignant meditation on the theme of assembly, which holds particular significance in contemporary society where the term is frequently used in reference to acts of violence, political activism, and controversial decision making activities at all levels of government.With a number of the works in the exhibition, Gates explores personal and political themes through a range of materials and motifs drawn from the roofing industry, which holds particular relevance for Gates whose father tarred roofs for a trade. The work “Tiki teak” (2014), for instance, consists of a section of flat roofing with delicate wooden tiles that the artist has hung on the wall like a painting, but which was conceived as part of an index of roofs rather than a series of paintings.One of the highlights of the exhibition is a new series of large-scale, textural, monochrome abstract tar paintings that the artist created by applying rubber and tar to wood panels. According to White Cube, Gates makes his decisions based on the procedure of roofing, not painting, a process the artist describes as: “borrowing good roofing strategies, through formal engagement with it, to arrive at painting or at least to get to the essence of roofing.”Theaster Gates “Freedom of Assembly” is at White Cube Bermondsey until July 5, 2015Follow @UK_ARTINFO
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