Ask anyone in the art world about the sculptor who fashions art from old tires and they'll say her name immediately: Chakaia Booker (b. 1953) who is also a fantastic recycler!
Exhibitions made of recycled materials are always an inspiration to me, marveling at the many ways creators can fashion art from most any old thing, producing results for others to see and admire and set us thinking about ways we can do the same to reuse materials and help "save the Earth" and combat climate change at the same time.
Rather than winding up in landfills, tires, which Chakaia repurposes, have extended lifelines, like manufacturers who use them in "rain gardens, roadways, construction materials, and cement manufacturing" to name a few ways the National Gallery cites.
If you are so inclined, many other uses can be found on the internet for remaking tires, like tire swings, rubber mulch for landscaping, mats, and playground surfaces. (Check here for more. Hmmm, all those Weather-Tech ads you see? You think its products come from recycled tires? Weather-Tech should consider a commission for Ms. Booker who could become its brand artist.)
"we may find beauty and inspiration in an ordinary tire" but I am still looking. At Treading New Ground, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 2, 2025/By Patricia Leslie
Walking through the streets of New York in the 1980s, Chakaia noticed abandoned and discarded tires and the spaces they occupied. She considered all the different ways they could be used, and voila! An art medium was born!
Her website says she also creates works from stainless steel for interior and exterior public spaces. She exhibits all over the world, including the 2000 Whitney Biennial and her works are found in about 50+ museums in the U.S. In 2005 she received a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Did you know that when tires hit the roadways, pollution in the form of tiny particulates containing neurotoxic and carcinogenic compounds that directly endanger the health of both humans and water wildlife are released in the air? So says the National Gallery of Art.
Rather than space ships, EVs, and Republicans, maybe Mr. Musk can wrap his head around making an alternative for our vehicles. Who's working on this?
"My intention is to translate materials into imagery that will stimulate people to consider themselves as a part of their environment, as one piece of a larger whole." Chakaia Booker
Kanitra Fletcher, associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art, curated the exhibition with Claudia Watts, research assistant, both of the National Gallery of Art which organized the show. Thank you very much, ladies!
When: Through August 2, 2026, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. seven days a week. Closed on Christmas and New Year's days.
Where: The Tower at the East Building, National Gallery of Art, between 3rd and 4th on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington
How much: Admission is always free at the National Gallery of Art.
Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza
For more information: (202) 737-4215
Accessibility information: (202) 842-6905
patricialesli@gmail.com
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