THE SERPENTINE Pavilion has become a major fixture for London since its inception in 2000. Each year, a world-renowned architect is invited to design a temporary structure that stands all summer long on the grounds outside the iconic Serpentine gallery, occupying a corner of Kensington Gardens.
Portrait of Theaster Gates. Photo: Rankin
This year’s pavilion was designed by the Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, who opened his first major exhibition in the city less than a year ago, at the Whitechapel Gallery. Returning to London for this design-led project, Gates came up with Black Chapel, as he has named it, which takes its inspiration from an array of sources, including beehive kilns found on the west coast of America and traditional housing structures located in Cameroon.
Serpentine Pavilion 2022 designed by Theaster Gates © Theaster Gates Studio. Photo: Iwan Baan. Courtesy: Serpentine
Intended as a site for contemplation and convening, this gleaming, panelled enclave has hosted numerous events over the past few months, welcoming large audiences into its serene interiors. As the nights draw in, and with the pavilion coming to a close on 16th October, the Black Chapel will be celebrated one last time with an extremely rare performance by Gates and his soul-funk band, The Black Monks.
Notes from The Vernon Spring in the Serpentine Pavilion 2022. Hosted on Saturday 11 June 2022 as part of the Serpentine Summer Programme 2022.
© Hugo Glendinning
Serpentine Pavilion 2022 designed by Theaster Gates © Theaster Gates Studio. Photo: Iwan Baan. Courtesy: Serpentine
Since 2009, the musical collective have been pushing the limits of jazz and blues traditions developed out of the American South, creating some seriously soulful sounds. On 15th October, the Monks will come together in Black Chapel to give London audiences, as they have put it, some “ gospel soul chant reverberation”. Expect to experience big harmonies under an expansive roof, which, rather poetically, opens out to the sky. The Black Monks performing in Gates’s Black Chapel will be a mesmerising celebration of the pavilion’s existence.
by Derby Jones
For more information about The Black Monks performance, visit Serpentine Galleries