Chakaia Booker

Chakaia Booker (born 1953) is an American sculptor known for creating monumental, abstract works for both the gallery and outdoor public spaces.

Booker has lived and worked in New York City’s East Village since the early 1980s and maintains a production studio in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Rubber has provided Booker with the ability to work in a modular format at a monumental scale while maintaining a fluid movement and gestural feel.

Throughout her career, Booker has consistently used stainless steel and fabric to create sculptural works in addition to rubber tires.

In 2009, Booker began an in depth exploration of printmaking creating a significant body of graphic works, largely focused on the process of chine collé.

Fixing, repairing, and manipulating materials early in life was foundational to Booker’s later approach to wearable art, ceramics, and sculpture, specifically with the use of pattern, repetition, and modular construction.

"[2] In the early 1990s, Booker began to create large outdoor sculptures from discarded materials found at construction sites, including rubber tires, a medium in which she continues to work.

"[5] Tire tread patterns in her work may also refer to elements of African culture, including scarification, body painting, and traditional textiles.

Booker's "Echoes in Black (Industrial Cicatrization)" from the 2000 Whitney Biennial deals with the emotional and physical scarification that people experience in life.

This public art exhibition featured 10 sculptures "created by the artist following her visit to Indianapolis and her researching of the city's history and heritage.