Artist’s Talk
Theaster Gates: Amalgam
The Lunder Institute was pleased to partner with Tate Liverpool to co-host the opening talk for the exhibition Theaster Gates: Amalgam, on view at Tate Liverpool through May 3, 2020. Gates was in conversation with Professor Michael Ralph, Director of Africana Studies at New York University, and British fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner.
Previously presented at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Amalgam developed from Gates’s research during his ongoing time in Maine as the Lunder Institute’s Distinguished Visiting Artist and Director of Artist Initiatives. (See Lunder Institute archives: Theaster Gates on Land)
“The idea of interracial mixing led to the creation of a sculptural form, “amalgam”: a by-product of what happens when one artistic form from history meets another one to create a new kind of work. I wanted to create a bridge that would make people more curious about this island and for people who are of mixed race and from backgrounds where their parents are of different religions, I wanted Malaga to be a place where all mixes felt that they had a home. The beauty of mixing is one of the cornerstones of the exhibition.”
Photos from top to bottom:
1. Theaster Gates, So Bitter, This Curse of Darkness, 2019. Ash, bronze, concrete, found objects, sound. © Theaster Gates. Image: Jon Lowe
2. Theaster Gates, Dance of Malaga (still), film, 2019. © Theaster Gates. Image: Chris Strong
3. Theaster Gates, Altar, 2019. Wood, slate. © Theaster Gates. Image: Chris Strong
4. Theaster Gates, Island Modernity Institute and Department of Tourism, 2019. Mixed media installation. Standing cabinet, wood, neon, concrete, ceramics, steel, plaster, glazed clay, graphite, chalk, slate. © Theaster Gates. Image: Chris Strong
