New York based Chakaia Booker and her international sculptures have made it to Little Rock as her exhibition Intentional Risks will be featured in the newly redesigned Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) Grand Opening Celebration held on April 22, 2023. “Intentional Risks,” an exhibition of nearly thirty prints and one large-scale sculpture, “The Fatality of Hope” (2007) will be on display in the Robyn and John Horn Gallery of the Windgate Art School from April 22 to Dec. 3, 2023. 

Booker, a contemporary artist best known for her abstract sculptures made from recycled tires and stainless steel, began integrating such materials into her work in the early 1990s. Discarded pieces like tires resonated with her because of their versatility and historical and cultural associations. 

For her, the varied tones of the rubber paralleled human diversity, while equally referencing industrialization, consumer culture, and environmental concerns. Her style involves slicing, twisting, and weaving things into new forms and textures to create impressionable sculptures that encompass real-life issues. She gained international acclaim at the 2000 Whitney Biennial with ” It’s So Hard to Be Green”)her 12.5 x 21 foot wall-hung tire sculpture. 

Though Booker’s sculptures aren’t the only thing to be admired. Her unique collections of prints – made in collaboration with master printers in the workshop of Robert Blackburn – are astonishing. Since 2009, she has created more than 100 prints out of thin, delicate papers that become transparent during the printing process. This process allows each layer to bleed into the next. She tears and cuts the papers then combines and rearranges them to make the final composition. In collaboration with master printmakers Phil Sanders and Justin Sanz, and drawing inspiration from her sculptures, Booker produces prints that are spontaneous and energetic. 

Her artistic process is entirely physical as she explained to the AMFA, “I sculpt myself every day.” Before she steps foot into the studio, she puts on an elaborate coat and dress, and an intricately wrapped headdress. Of course, paired with utilitarian jeans and work boots. This style can be linked to some of her earliest wearable arts and has become her fashion signature. Once she begins, she is completely immersed in her craft; she transports and reshapes the tires with machinery to create breathtaking sculptures that can withstand any outdoor environment. 

Booker received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005 along with many other accolades throughout her career. Her works are contained in more than 40 public collections and have been exhibited across the US, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Some of her recent works include “ A Moment In Time” at the Storm King Art Center permanent collection in rural New York and “Deja Vu” in downtown Chicago, IL. 

Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Opens Its Doors

 On April 22, AMFA began a week of festivities with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Mayor Frank Scott and Capital Campaign Co-Chairs Warren and Harriet Stephens. According to AMFA officials, the fundraising drive for the project has exceeded the original goal of $142 million. The capital campaign, called “Reimagining the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts,” includes a $31.3 million contribution from the City of Little Rock, generated through a voter approved hotel tax revenue bond. 

Booker’s “Intentional Risks” will debut alongside “Tears of Chiwen,” an animated video by Sun Xun; site-specific commissions by Natasha Bowdoin; and “Drawn to Paper,” and “Together,”—an AMFA-curated exhibition that celebrates community, family, friends, and our connection to the natural world. Guests will be able to explore all AMFA has to offer, including the Performing Arts Theater and Windgate Art School. The Cultural Living Room, AMFA’s signature community space, and the Museum Store will also be open. Performances, music, food vendors, and other exciting events will extend out into MacArthur Park from noon to 8pm