Charles Gaines is a Los Angeles based artist whose work is rooted in conceptual art.
He employs the use of systems, most often in the form of the grid, to make drawings, photographs, and video installations. Committed to conceptual principles, Gaines is one of the few African American artists who worked in this genre during the 1970’s, creating a conversation with the practices of Sol LeWitt, Mel Bochner, John Cage and Lawrence Weiner. His exploration of abstraction and aesthetics as means to explore ideas about perception, objectivity, and relationships has influenced a younger generation of artists including: Edgar Arceneaux, Gary Simmons and Mark Bradford. Recent exhibitions include a survey show titled “Charles Gaines: Gridwork 1974–1989” organized by The Studio Museum in Harlem in 2014 and exhibited at The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles the following year. “Charles Gaines 1992-2023” opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami in 2023. Charles Gaines is represented by Hauser & Wirth and Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin.