A comprehensive survey of one of the most innovative, boundary-breaking artists working today

Theaster Gates's work in the areas of social practice, interdisciplinary performance, archival investigation, and multi-faceted object making have made him one of the most compelling artists of the twenty-first century.

Accompanying a major mid-career retrospective at the New Museum, New York, opening in November 2022, this book covers the full range of Gates's artistic activities over the past twenty years, capturing his expansive conception of art as a social sculptor, organizer, improviser, and preservationist.

Jessica Bell Brown is curator and head of contemporary art at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Gary Carrion-Murayari is Kraus Family Curator at the New Museum.

Ryan Dohoney is Associate Professor of Musicology in the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University.

Coco Fusco is an interdisciplinary artist and writer based in New York.

Massimiliano Gioni is Edlis Neeson Artistic Director at the New Museum, New York.

Dieter Roelstraete is curator at the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society at the University of Chicago.