Whether weaving plastic pony beads into a monumental sculpture, adorning figures with mother-of-pearl buttons, or mosaicing ceramic tile across a New York subway station, Nick Cave has continually returned to one question: how does this material help bring people into the work?
“I have to think about the journey and how I get your willingness to explore and go with me,” he told Colossal in 2022.
This month at Jack Shainman Gallery’s new Tribeca location, Cave presents his latest material explorations. Amalgams and Graphts comprises two distinct bodies of work that are a sort of progression from the artist’s signature Soundsuits. Created following the Los Angeles Police Department’s beating of Rodney King in 1991, the ebullient costumes conceal the wearer’s identity and invite viewers to engage from a place of non-judgment.
For Amalgams, Cave created bronze casts of his own body at different scales evocative of Soundsuits. At the center of the exhibition is an unmissable, almost 26-foot sculpture that towers over the space. Thick foliage cloaks the figure and emphasizes the possibility for growth as branches sprout from the upper torso, creating what the artist refers to as a “migration hub” where perched birds take refuge. Nearby, a similar work depicts a smaller, yet equally opulent figure seated with feet lifted off the ground.
“Amalgam (Plot)” is the most compact of the three. Erupting with vintage tole flowers, the floor sculpture portrays two figures, one lying on his back and the other face down with his arms over his head to take cover. The protective pose mimics a scene of racially motivated violence captured on video.
In part a move toward accessibility, the bronze works are part of Cave’s interest in public art and sharing his practice—including his commitment to cultivating resistance in the face of oppression—more broadly.
While the artist frequently incorporates his own body into his work, Graphts is the first time he’s made himself so recognizable. Self-portraits appear amid decadent collages of vintage serving trays decorated with floral motifs. A long-time collector of found objects, Cave melds the platters with needlepoint, a domestic craft historically practiced by privileged, wealthy women.
As is typical in the artist’s work, the trays take on several meanings, invoking servitude and the aesthetics of social systems along with the multi-valent notion of “serving.” Associated with subordination and duty, “to serve” in ballroom culture is instead “a directive to act with confidence and attitude.”
Amalgams and Graphts continues in New York through March 15. Find more from Cave on Instagram.
