Artist Talk: Chakaia Booker at the National Gallery of Art

We have seen quite a bit of Chakaia Booker’s work in out meetup outings! I’ve added a few photos here to remind you. Those who are interested can check out her newly exhibited work together after the talk

🎟️ TICKETS : (free) must register here
Registration link

From the National Gallery of Art Website:

Join us for a presentation by Chakaia Booker to celebrate opening weekend of In the Tower: Chakaia Booker: Treading New Ground, on view April 5–August 3, 2025. For over four decades, Booker has cut, coiled, and contorted tires, sculpting the industrial waste into spectacular abstract forms. She uses discarded tires both as a commentary on cultural histories and experiences and as a sustainable practice, encouraging us to consider the symbolic resonance of the material as well as the effect rubber can have on our future.

The exhibition presents three monumental wall relief sculptures—Acid Rain (2001), Echoes in Black (Industrial Cicatrization) (1996), and It’s So Hard to Be Green (2000). Each sculpture spans 20 to 21 feet wide and features a mass of curled bands of tire rubber, some interspersed with spiky shards, coiled strips, and loops made from inner tubes. Also featured is Booker’s six-part photogravure series Foundling Warrior Quest (II 21C) (2010), which showcases the artist as a mythical being foraging in a harsh, industrial landscape.