Color Study for Nature Painting is one of Theaster Gates’ renowned tar paintings, of which the compositing materials are the same ones used in roofing processes, referring to his father’s occupation as a roofer. The dimensionality created by the layering of materials highlights this painting’s sculptural aspect, of which Gates states, “Roofing, and by proxy, painting, has become core to my practice.” However, the formal qualities of this artwork make strong references to Modernist abstract traditions. Thus, by using such everyday construction materials, Gates elevates their value beyond the practical while extending and challenging the hegemonic tensions underlying this art history canon to include overlooked perspectives of the black community. Particularly, Gates encourages viewers to perceive black labour as a kind of artistic labour, as viewers are prompted to consider the socio-economic disparities between black people and their white counterparts that made it difficult for black narratives to be sufficiently represented in the art historical canon.