Francis Warren Nicholls aka Frankie Knuckles was one of the people who pioneered house music, and was world-famous amongst electronic music fans. He sadly died in 2014 due to complications from diabetes.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Gagosian gallery and Chicago based artist Theaster Gates, and comes prior to the release of four unreleased remixes by Frankie Knuckles’ on the 9th of July.
There are 5,000 of Frankie Knuckles records on display, and the installation featuring his collection is part of a group exhibition called Social Works.
Some of the individual records considered highlights of the collection include a promotional copy of Frankie Knuckles’ classic “The Whistle Song”, also a pressing of 1995 release “Hard & Soul” featuring a personal note by New York DJ and producer Danny Tenaglia.
Previously, the record collection was housed for four years inside Stony Island Arts Bank in Knuckles’ home city of Chicago.
Keeping his name and legacy alive, the Frankie Knuckles foundation was set up, and the organisation also raise money for a variety of causes that were close to the legendary DJ’s heart. This includes things like music in school, LGBTQ youth homelessness, and diabetes research.
Ron Trent is also a world-famous DJ, and was a close friend of Frankie Knuckles. Speaking to Antwaun Sargent as part of the Social Works supplement, Ron Trent said: “Frankie’s music, his art, his style, everything, it talked to me. I was able to take that and then, through my own filter, develop my craft. The seeds that he planted sonically, through his emotions, everything else, they are why we – students of his, people that went to go hear him, people coming up under him – are following along this unseen spiritual thread he helped weave into the industry.”
“His approach, his psyche, his emotions, and his energy are still here,” Trent then continued to say. “As we know through science, energy doesn’t dissipate, it just changes form. It’s still floating around, you know. That’s why we’re having the conversation today.”
You can learn more about the exhibition HERE
