The relationship between God and humanity is compared to that of a potter working with clay in Christian literature. ‘As a potter, you learn how to mould the world,’ says Theaster Gates. Clay and religion are central to the Chicago-based artist’s artistic practise, which has garnered international praise for his communal and cultural interventions in Black space, particularly on Chicago’s South Side. Gates was a member of the New Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church choir as a child and went on to study urban planning, theology, and ceramics.

A Clay Sermon is a presentation of clay’s significance, both material and spiritual legacies. This exhibition spans two decades, from Gates’ early hand-thrown pots to his large-scale Afro-Mingei sculptures, and brings together study, ideas, method, and production. It looks at craft, labour, performance, and racial identity, as well as the use of clay in community formation, colonialism, and global trade, as well as ceremonial and ritual uses of ceramics.

In addition to his own work, Gates has recreated historic ceramics from private and public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he served as an Emeritus Fellow at the V&A Research Institute. Gates’ most current piece of work, massive stoneware pots mounted on custom-made plinths of hand-milled wood and stone, are also on display, as is a new film by Gates that takes the form of a sermon on clay.