Theaster Gates's first solo exhibition in his hometown of Chicago, 'Unto Thee,' opens at the Smart Museum of Art, featuring materials collected over his career that are tied to the University of Chicago. The show includes slate from Rockefeller Chapel, glass lantern slides from the art history department, and the 4,500-volume archive of a late colleague, all transformed into sculptural installations that explore the changing meaning of objects.
The exhibition matters because it highlights Gates's practice of 'redemptive' reuse, giving new life to discarded materials while deepening his long-standing relationship with UChicago. It also arrives alongside the Rebuild Foundation's opening of The Land School, underscoring Gates's broader mission to create community-centered cultural spaces on Chicago's South Side and to challenge how value is assigned to objects and histories.