Chakaia Booker

Millennium Park will unveil six recent sculptures by American artist Chakaia Booker in a new exhibition in the Boeing Galleries. A seventh, site-responsive sculpture (a new work) will be added in September 2016 in the South Boeing Gallery.

Chakaia Booker is the first African American artist to be showcased in the Boeing Galleries.

Ranging in height from 96 to 192 inches and weighing up to a ton, the exhibited works are created using rubber tires and stainless steel. As the New York Times describes, “Old tires never die, but in Ms. Booker’s hands they become pure poetry.” The Plain Dealer says, “The art of Chakaia Booker, who creates spectacular sculptures from discarded tires, melts expectations like burning rubber on pavement”. The installation includes the works Gridlock (2008), One Way (2008), Pass the Buck (2008), Take Out (2008), ShapeShifter (2012) and LBD Duty Free (2014).

Booker’s work is inspired by a fusion of cultural and aesthetic influences including texture, movement, softness, power and strength. Her work translates simple materials into complex images that stimulate the viewer to reconsider the expressive nature of art. Booker began her career making wearable sculpture in the 1980s, and those early explorations can be seen in the woven, textile-like qualities of her current work.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website