Kyoto-based Nishijin textile house HOSOO has announced a new exhibition in collaboration with contemporary artist Theaster Gates, titled “Theaster Gates: Glorious Robe.” The exhibition will run from April 11 to August 30, 2026, at HOSOO GALLERY in Kyoto. Admission is free.
The exhibition builds upon the ongoing dialogue between HOSOO and Gates, which began with the 2024 exhibition “Afro Mingei” at the Mori Art Museum. Expanding on this collaboration, Glorious Robe presents a new body of work that reinterprets textiles and garments as artistic practice.
A New Garment Born from Cultural Intersection
At the core of the exhibition is Dashikimono, a newly conceived garment that merges the West African traditional attire “dashiki” with the Japanese kimono.
The dashiki, rooted in West African culture, became a symbol of identity and resistance during the Black Power movement in the United States in the 1960s. In contrast, the kimono represents centuries of Japanese cultural life and textile craftsmanship. By bringing these two distinct traditions together, the exhibition reframes clothing not merely as fashion, but as a medium that carries history, ideology, and collective memory.
Another central element is Gates’ recurring motif, the “Vessel.” Much like garments, vessels are positioned not only as functional objects but as carriers of culture, spirituality, and communal memory. In the exhibition, both garments and vessels are presented as metaphors for the body—forms through which cultural histories are preserved and reconfigured across generations.
Memory and Politics Woven into Obi
The exhibition also features a series of works using traditional Japanese obi sashes. These pieces commemorate leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers. Each obi incorporates symbolic raised-fist motifs alongside the year of each figure’s death.
Originally presented in Gates’ solo exhibition “1965: Malcolm in Winter: A Translation Exercise” at White Cube Bermondsey, these works are grounded in archival materials on Malcolm X compiled by journalist Mamoru Nagata and Kasuga Ishitani. Their research—rooted in firsthand experience of Malcolm X’s assassination in 1965—played a crucial role in introducing the history of Black America’s liberation movement to Japan.
In this context, the obi is reimagined as a medium of remembrance, carrying historical and political narratives. Gates continues to engage with such archives, using art as a means to breathe new life into cultural memory.
A Multidisciplinary Exhibition Bridging Craft and Archive
The exhibition further includes new works in which Gates’ ceramic “Vessel” forms are wrapped in woven textiles, resembling traditional tea caddy covers. It also revisits earlier works such as “Banner” and “Kimono,” originally shown in Afro Mingei.
Expanding beyond visual art, the exhibition incorporates sound and performance elements, including a recorded reading by Kasuga Ishitani and a gospel performance by Tsugaru shamisen musician Yutaka Oyama—presented in Japan for the first time.
This multidisciplinary approach reflects Gates’ long-standing practice of “breathing new life into archives.” In Glorious Robe, garments and vessels function as “spiritual containers,” prompting reflection on the role of craft, ritual, and collective memory in shaping social and cultural movements.
Where Nishijin Textile Meets Contemporary Art
Founded in 1688 in Kyoto’s Nishijin district, HOSOO carries forward over 1,200 years of textile tradition. Today, the company maintains an archive of approximately 20,000 obi design patterns, combining heritage techniques with contemporary innovation to create textiles for global markets.
In this exhibition, these archival patterns are actively incorporated into the works, highlighting the intersection of historical craftsmanship and contemporary artistic expression. Through this collaboration, textiles are repositioned not as static heritage, but as a living, evolving cultural language.
About Theaster Gates
Theaster Gates is a contemporary artist known for his multidisciplinary practice spanning sculpture, ceramics, performance, and urban development. His work often focuses on overlooked aspects of Black culture, including objects, archives, and spaces, which he reconfigures to propose new systems of value.
With a background in sculpture and urban planning, Gates positions art as a form of social and cultural practice. In recent years, his work has explored the concept of “Black space,” engaging with collective memory, history, and identity.
His major exhibitions include shows at the Smart Museum of Art in Chicago (2025–2026), Fundação Albuquerque in Sintra, Portugal (2025), and Mori Art Museum in Tokyo (2024). He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2025) and the Isamu Noguchi Award (2023).
Exhibition Information
Exhibition Title: Theaster Gates: Glorious Robe
Dates: April 11 – August 30, 2026
Venue: HOSOO GALLERY (412 Kakimotocho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto)
Hours: 10:30 AM – 6:00 PM (last entry 15 minutes before closing)
Admission: Free
Website: www.hosoogallery.jp
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