GATES, Theaster
Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei

Educated in sculpture and urban planning, Gates first came to Japan in 2004 to study ceramics in Tokoname, Aichi, and has since been influenced by Japanese culture, including ceramics, for over 20 years. Impressive encounters and discoveries in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as his lived experience as an African-American with roots in Mississippi and Chicago, USA, form the foundation of his creative work. As an artist, Gates’ exploration of cultural hybridity has led him to coined the term “Afro-Mingei” to describe his unique aesthetic, which combines the slogan “Black is Beautiful,” which was part of the American civil rights movement (1954-1968), with the philosophy of the Japanese “Mingei” movement .It gave birth to the term “Afro-Mingei,” which describes a unique aesthetic.

Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei is published in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition at Mori Art Museum – Gates’ first solo exhibition in Japan: organised into sections Sacred Space, Black Library & Black Space, Blackness, Chronology and Afro-Mingei, the show not only his past masterpieces but also works closely related to Japanese culture, including new works created especially for this exhibition.

This catalofue introduces the project and also includes the timeline of the history of Tokoname, the history of folk art, the history of the fictional potter Yamaguchi Shoji, and black American history and Gates’ personal history in one time line, as well as the architectural project by Gates, which was also displayed in the exhibition. Three essays by Hirokazu Tokuyama, Coco Fusco, and Chelsea Foxwell, and an interview with Gates are also included to deepen understanding of Gates’ multifaceted and unique activities. [publisher's note]

Published by Torch Press, 2024
Design by Tsutomu Nishioka
Monographs / Crafts