Theaster Gates - White Cube

Theaster Gates, Diagonal Bitumen, 2014 (Wood, rubber and tar.)

Theaster Gates: Freedom of Assembly is at White Cube (Bermondsey) until 5 July 2015.
This is inspiring. Theaster Gates' achievements in the rejuvenation and cultural renewal of derelict areas of Chicago through creative projects are extraordinary. (Watch a TED video of Gates talking about the projects.)
These projects are funded by the sale of artworks principally made from materials salvaged from the derelict properties he has acquired. (He is fully alive to the paradox of the gallery objects functioning as high end commodities for the moneyed classes and funding the developement of deprived urban communities.)
In an interview with Tim Adams, Gates insists, "Biography and geography matter...". So, here is the potted biography: Gates was born in 1973 in the West Side of Chicago to a schoolteacher mother and a father who worked as a roofer - his father bequeathed him his 'tar kettle' and collaborated on the tar 'paintings'; he was the youngest of 9 children and the only boy. He has degrees in Urban Planning and Ceramics (his creative practice is rooted in pottery) and began a career in 'city hall': “I realised it was actually developers who changed cities. It bugged me that the people with the most agency, the most entrepreneurial spirit, were also the people with the least consciousness about the needs of a place. I went after having more agency…”. And so, following the banking crash in 2008 he bought a bungalow in Chicago's South Side turned it into an 'archive'  and 'soul food kitchen' and opened it up to the neighbourhood. So began the Dorchester Projects and the acquisition of many more buildings, including a derelict bank and the contents of closed down bookshops, record stores and hardware stores.
On 23 January 2015 Gates was awarded the £40,000 Artes Mundi prize in Cardiff  - and elected to share the money with the other nominees: "Let's split this motherfucker!"
On 29th June 2015 details will be announced of his first UK public project to take place in Bristol.
Read the interview with Tim Adams; read an interview with Ben Eastham: Theaster Gates on How to Be “The Most Badass Artist in the World”; read a review of the White Cube show by Adrian Searle; watch a TED video of Gates talking about his work.

Theaster Gates, Ground Rules (Free Throw Possibility), 2014 (Wood flooring.)

Theaster Gates, Tiki Teak, 2014 (Wood and roofing paper.)

Theaster Gates, Clearing, 2014 (Wood, rubber and tar.)

Theaster Gates, Gees Removed, 2014 (Wood, roofing substrate and tar.)

Theaster Gates, installation view, White Cube (left: Atlas, 2015; right: Shrug, 2015)

Theaster Gates, installation view, White Cube (Tarred Vessel in foreground).

Contents of hardware store bought by Theaster Gates

Derelict bank bought by Theaster Gates and transformed into 'Stony Island Arts Bank'

Christopher Williams - Whitechapel Gallery

Christopher Williams, Model: 1964 Renault Dauphine-Four, R-1095, 2000 (See full caption, below)

Christopher Williams: The Production Line of Happiness is at Whitechapel Gallery until 21 June 2015.
Christopher Williams achieves something remarkable: technically immaculate photographs that are simultaneously seductive and witty critiques of the role of photography in consumer culture. The playful conceptualism and critical acuity of this ‘capitalist realism*’ reflects the fact that he studied at CalArts (The California Institute of Arts) where he was taught by the pioneering Conceptual artists John Baldessari and Douglas Huebler.
In addition to his creative examination of the nature and uses of commercial photography, Williams also takes a wry approach to gallery display. The installation is carefully and precisely organised and integrates walls removed from previous exhibitions; no explanatory texts are provided in the gallery but the captions from the previous exhibition (of abstract art) have been allowed to remain! Pedantically exhaustive captions are provided in the (almost) unillustrated catalogue. (See examples, below.)
(*Williams was shortlisted for the 2012 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize (see below) for his exhibition Kapitalistischer Realismus at Důmumění České Budějovice, Budweis, Czech Republic.)
Read reviews by Sean O'Hagan and Laura Cumming; read reviews of New York MoMA and Art Institute of Chicago showings by Peter Schjeldahl, Roberta Smith and Lori Waxman.
Watch short videos of Williams talking about The Production Line of Happiness and Kapitalistischer Realismus?
(Click on images to enlarge.) 

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Bergische Bauernscheune, Junkersholz / Leichlingen, September 29th, 2009. 2010. Pigmented inkjet print. Paper: 20 x 24″ (50.8 x 61 cm); framed: 32 7/8 x 37 1/16″ (83.5 x 94.1 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Photography Fund. Courtesy of the artist; David Zwirner, New York/London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Bouquet for Bas Jan Ader & Christopher D’Arcangelo, 1991. Lorrin and Deane Wong Family Trust, Los Angeles. © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Standardpose [Standard Pose] 1,0 Zwerg-Brabanter, silber, Düsseldorf, 2013 (Vera Spix, Elsdorf). Ring number: EE-D13 13-901, green Studio Rhein Verlag, Düsseldorf November 21, 2013, 2014. Inkjet print on cotton rag paper 26 x 33 inches (66 x 83.8 cm). Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne. © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Untitled (Study in Yellow and Red/Berlin). Dirk Schaper Studio, Berlin, June 21st, 2007 (No. 2), 2008. C-Print, 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm). WILCH0252. © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Kodak Three Point Reflection Guide / © 1968, Eastman Kodak Company, 1968 / (Meiko laughing) / Vancouver, B.C. / April 6, 2005. 2005. Chromogenic color print. Paper: 20 x 24″ (50.8 x 61 cm); framed: 34 x 37 3/4″ (86.4 x 95.9 cm). Glenstone. Courtesy of the artist; David Zwirner, New York/London; and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Untitled (Study in Gray); 1967 Citroen DS. Serial number: DS851360a. Color code: AC 138. Color name: gris dandy. Color year: 1966. Studio Rhein Verlag, Düsseldorf, November 7, 2013, 2014. Inkjet print on cotton rag paper, 20 x 25 inches (50.8 x 63.5 cm). Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne. © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Untitled (Study in Gray) 1967 Citroen DS Serial number: DS851360a. Color code: AC 118. Color name: gris etna. Color year: 1966. Studio Rhein Verlag, Düsseldorf, November 11, 2013, 2014. Inkjet print on cotton rag paper 20 x 25 inches (50.8 x 63.5 cm). Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London and Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne. © Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams (American, born 1956). Model: 1964 Renault Dauphine-Four, R-1095 / Body Type & Seating: 4-dr-sedan–4 to 5 persons / Engine Type: 14/52 Weight: 1397 lbs. Price: $1,495.00 USD (original) / ENGINE DATA: / Base Four: inline, overhead-valve four-cylinder / Cast iron block and aluminum head. W/removable cylinder sleeves. / Displacement : 51.5 cu. in. (845 oc.) / Bore and Stroke: 2.23 × 3.14 in. (58 × 80 mm) / Compression ratio: 7.25:1 Brake Horsepower: 32 (SAE) at 4200 rpm / Torque: 50 lbs. at 2000 rpm. Three main bearings. Solid valve lifters. / Single downdraft carburetor / CHASSIS DATA: / Wheelbase 89 in. Overall length, 155 in. Height: 57 in. / Width: 60 in. Front thread: 49 in. Rear thread: 48 in. / Standard Tires: 5.50 × 15 TECHNICAL: / Layout: rear engine, rear drive. Transmission: four speed manual / Steering: rack and pinion. Suspension (front): independent coil springs. / Suspension (back): independent with swing axles and coil springs. Brakes: / front/rear disc. Body construction: steel unibody. / PRODUCTION DATA: / Sales 18,432 sold in U.S. in 1964 (all types) / Manufacturer: Régie Nationale des Usines Renault; Billancourt, France / Distributor: Renault Inc., New York, NY., U.S.A. / Serial number: R-10950059799 / Engine Number: Type 670-05 # 191563 / California License Plate number: UOU 087 / Vehicle ID number: 0059799 (For R.R.V.) / Los Angeles, California / January 15, 2000 (No. 6). 2000. Gelatin silver print. Paper: 11 x 14″ (28 x 35.6 cm); framed: 26 × 30″ (66 × 76.2 cm).  © Christopher Williams

Sonia Delaunay - Tate Modern

Sonia Delaunay, Propeller (Air Pavilion), 1937
(Detail – click on image to see whole picture; see, also, installation shot below)

Sonia Delaunay is at Tate Modern until 9 August 2015.
Sonia Delaunay arrived in Paris, aged 20, in 1905 (from Ukraine, via St Petersburg and Germany). She absorbed the avant-garde currents of the moment, including the wild colour of Van Gogh and the Fauves (1904-8), the formal radicalism of Cubism (1908-14) and the Futurists’ romance with speed and technology (launched in Paris, 1909).

Along with her husband Robert she developed a strain of Cubism which emphasised colour (in contrast to the muted tones of Braque and Picasso) and was named Orphism by Guillaume Apollinaire. Drawing on the colour theory of Eugène Chevreul, who identified the phenomenon of simultaneous contrast, the Delaunays developed a purely abstract art which dispensed with form in favour of rhythmic patterns of vibrant colour: Simultanism.

Sonia Delaunay moved easily between mediums and is notable for remarkable work in painting, collage, book binding, textile design, applied design and fashion. Although the chauvinism of the history of art has generally only acknowledged her as a footnote to accounts of her husband Robert, this exhibition will show that, in fact, Sonia was one of the key figures in one of the key periods of European Modernism

Read reviews and features by Adrian Searle, Laura Cumming, Kathleen Jamie, Alastair Smart, Karen Wright, Lara Prendergast, Ben Luke; read interviews with Juliet Bingham, curator of the exhibition: All You Need to Konw About Sonia Delaunay and Sonia Delaunay - Planes, Prints and Automobiles.
Click on images to enlarge.

Sonia Delaunay, Yellow Nude, 1908

Sonia Delaunay, Electric Prisms, 1913

Sonia Delaunay, Simultaneous Dresses (The Three Women), 1925

Sonia Delaunay, Rhythm Colour no. 1076, 1939

Sonia Delaunay, Simultane Playing Cards, 1964

Sonia Delaunay, Syncopated Rythmn, 1967

Installation view showing 2 of the Air Pavilion murals, 1937

Installation view

Installation view

Sonia Delaunay, clothes and matching Citroen B12, 1925
Two models wearing fur coat designed by Sonia Delaunay and manufactured by Heim, with the car belonging to the journalist Kaplan and painted after one of Sonia Delaunay’s fabrics, in front of the Pavillon du Tourisme designed by Mallet-Stevens, International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts, Paris 1925 

Sonia Delaunay, paint scheme on Matra 530A, 1968