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The Serpentine Pavilion is a highlight of the summer art calendar - a brand new bit of gorgeous, temporary architecture in the middle of Hyde Park to go lounge about in for the two days a year it’s both warm and dry enough to venture outside. And this year’s looks like a doozy.
Designed by American artist Theaster Gates - who recently had a gorgeous show of ceramics at the Whitechapel Art Gallery - ‘Black Chapel’ is inspired by the kilns of Stoke-on-Trent and has been designed in collaboration with brilliant architect Sir David Adjaye.
Made mainly of wood, the church-like structure will feature a working bell from a demolished church in Gates’ native Chicago. In classic Gates-style, the pavilion is intended as a place for music and performance, so expect a program of events and concerts to be announced in due course.
Gates has become one of the most powerful, singular voices in contemporary art, and London’s been lucky to see tons of his art in recent years, but his Serpentine Pavilion might end up being the best thing he’s done in this city. Now it just needs to warm up and stop raining and we’ll be all good.
The Serpentine Pavilion 2022 opens on June 10. More details here.
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