A new retrospective of American artist Theaster Gates opened this week at Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills. ¡°Afro-Mingei¡± claims to be the largest solo show ever of a Black artist in Japan. Ambitious in scale, promiscuous in genre and didactic in tone, the exhibit gives viewers plenty and more to chew on.
Gates is a ceramist by training, and his current practice might best be described as ¡°mayoral.¡± He rose to prominence for his influential urban revitalisation projects on Chicago¡¯s South Side, for which he transforms dilapidated buildings into art and community spaces. Gates¡¯ work is also archival; he acquires large collections of art, music and literature to preserve Black American culture.
Gates has maintained a personal connection to Japan since 2004, when he studied pottery in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, as part of a residency for international artists. Typically Gates brings art to Chicago for its Black residents, but with ¡°Afro-Mingei¡± he brings Black Chicago to the world. Drawing a line between Aichi and Chicago may seem odd, but the show gives it an earnest go.
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