Theaster Gates: A Clay Sermon

A Clay Sermon is an exposition of the significance of clay, its material and spiritual legacies. Bringing together research, ideas, process and production, this exhibition surveys works by Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates across two decades, from his early hand-thrown pots to his large-scale Afro-Mingei sculptures. It explores craft, labour, performance and racial identity, the use of clay in building communities of knowledge, its role in colonialism and global trade and the ceremonial and ritual use of ceramics.

Alongside his own work Gates has made a selection of historic ceramics from private and public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he has been Emeritus Fellow at the V&A Research Institute. The exhibition also includes a new film by Gates, which takes the form of a sermon on clay and his most recent body of work, large stoneware vessels installed on custom-made plinths of hand-milled wood and stone.