In the Tower: Chakaia Booker
In the Tower: Chakaia Booker is a focused exhibition at the National Gallery of Art that presents three monumental wall relief sculptures and a series of photogravures by the American artist Chakaia Booker, who has spent decades transforming discarded rubber tires into powerful abstract forms. The exhibition, titled *Treading New Ground*, highlights Booker’s sustainable practice of salvaging industrial waste and her broader commentary on environmental degradation, cultural histories, and the African American experience. Each of the three large-scale works—*Acid Rain* (2001), *Echoes in Black (Industrial Cicatrization)* (1996), and *It’s So Hard to Be Green* (2000)—stretches twenty to twenty-one feet wide and is built from curled bands of tire rubber, inner tubes, and other rubber fragments, creating dense, textured surfaces that evoke both natural and industrial landscapes. Complementing these is Booker’s six-part photogravure series *Foundling Warrior Quest (II 21C)* (2010), which portrays the artist as a mythical figure navigating a harsh, post-industrial world. The exhibition also includes related video and article content that further explore the themes of transformation and resilience in Booker’s work.
When: April 5, 2025 through August 2, 2026
Location: National Gallery of Art, East Building, Tower Level, 6th and Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20565
Tickets: Admission is always free; no passes or tickets are required.
Description: The exhibition showcases Chakaia Booker’s distinctive method of cutting, coiling, and contorting discarded tires into spectacular abstract wall reliefs. Her use of tires addresses both environmental concerns—keeping rubber out of landfills and reducing methane emissions—and cultural histories, as the material itself carries associations with labor, mobility, and racial experience. The three featured sculptures span two decades of the artist’s career and are installed together for the first time, creating an immersive environment of black, textured forms that invite viewers to consider the material’s past and its implications for the future.
Artworks on View: Three monumental wall reliefs: *Acid Rain* (2001, rubber tires and wood), *Echoes in Black (Industrial Cicatrization)* (1996, rubber tires and wood), and *It’s So Hard to Be Green* (2000, rubber tires and wood), each approximately 20–21 feet wide. Also featured is the six-part photogravure series *Foundling Warrior Quest (II 21C)* (2010).
Stories and Media: The exhibition is accompanied by an online article titled “From Old Car Tires, Chakaia Booker Reveals Beauty and Devastation” and a video titled “How Artist Chakaia Booker Turns Car Tires Into Transcendence,” which examine the environmental and metaphorical dimensions of her work.
Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and curated by Kanitra Fletcher, associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art, with Claudia Watts, research assistant, both of the National Gallery of Art.
Note: The exhibition is part of the National Gallery’s “In the Tower” series, which presents focused installations of contemporary artists in the East Building tower galleries.