Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei

Highly-Anticipated, Must-See First Solo Exhibition by an Enthralling Black Artist in Japan, with Epic Installation Imagining a New Hybrid of Black and Japanese Cultures through Ceramics, Architecture, and Music

Based on the South Side of Chicago, IL, Theaster Gates (b. 1973 in Chicago) has earned international acclaim for a practice that traverses multiple media and genres, primarily focusing on sculpture and ceramics but also encompassing architecture, music, performance, fashion and design. Trained as a sculptor and urban planner, Gates has been influenced by Japanese craft and culture over the past 20 years. He first traveled to Japan in 2004 to study ceramics in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture. His deep encounters in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific, coupled with his experiences as an African-American man with roots in Mississippi and Chicago have been the keystones of his creative process. Gates, who has explored cultural hybridity over the course of his practice, coined the term “Afro-Mingei,” his unique conceptual framework fusing the philosophies of the Japanese Mingei movement and the aesthetics of the “Black Is Beautiful” cultural movement that played a significant part in the American civil rights movement (1954-1968). Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei is Gates’ first solo exhibition in Japan and largest-ever in Asia, made up of following sections: Shrine; Black Library & Black Space; Blackness; Timelines; and Afro-Mingei. This exhibition showcases major bodies of existing and never-before-seen work that demonstrate the influence of Japanese culture on his practice.
As the world reexamines the historical and contemporary prominence of certain voices and seeks to diversify the perspectives represented, the global art scene has been increasingly interested in the multiplicity of experiences reflected in the work of leading Black artists. While Black histories remain relatively little known among the Japanese public, this exhibition demonstrates its growing attention to Black art through the multidimensional practice of Theaster Gates. Afro-Mingei will convey the importance of contemporary art that honors craft, ask us to consider questions of race and politics, and celebrate the hybrid possibilities of culture.

Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei

Organizer	Mori Art Museum
Corporate Sponsors	OBAYASHI CORPORATION Bloomberg Philanthropies Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. WOODFORD RESERVE
Special Support	WHITE CUBE
Support	Gagosian GRAY
Production Support	SANSUI-SHA SHOYEIDO INCENSE CO. UJI TEA HORII SHICHIMEIEN HOSOO
Curated by	Tokuyama Hirokazu (Associate Curator, Mori Art Museum) Kataoka Mami (Director, Mori Art Museum)