This artist has had solo exhibitions all over the country, from San Francisco to New York. Now, Nick Cave’s art is coming to Springfield.

Nick Cave was born in Fulton, Mo. in 1959. Cave graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute and received a master of fine arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He currently lives in Chicago, working as a professor and chairman of the fashion department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Throughout his career, his work has been exhibited across the nation, and now one of his most notable exhibits is coming to Springfield. At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, Cave’s exhibit will open to public at the Springfield Art Museum. There is no cost to view the exhibit.

Joshua Best, development and marketing coordinator of the museum, noted that the response on social media has been overwhelmingly positive about the exhibition.

Photo via the Springfield Art Museum.

“People are excited to see this caliber of an artist and work in our local art museum,” Best said. “‘Soundsuits’ is one of Cave’s most famed pieces. They were named after the noise they make when they are worn. They are designed out of color and texture, utilizing things like buttons, yarn and vintage toys.”

“Cave made his first ‘Soundsuit’ as a response and reaction to the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles in March 1991,” Best explained. “He said, ‘I remember thinking that my identity is really only protected in the privacy of my own home. That the moment I leave this space, I could be just another profile. Then I was thinking about myself as a black male, and that on top of art, on what I’m trying to be as an artist, what does that mean?’”

The suits were made to camouflage the body: to conceal race, gender and class, forcing the viewer to examine without judgment.

Best said, “Cave has continued to investigate the power of these sculptural garments since that initial work and continues to create new ‘Soundsuits,’ even as he has moved on to other larger, more immersive installation projects. He is a multi-disciplinary artist working between the visual and performing arts through a wide range of mediums including sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance.”

The ‘Soundsuits’ are meant for the viewer to notice how they hold at least two opposing sides. Even though they look fun and eccentric on the surface, the suits serve as literal and figurative suits of armor.

“Nick Cave is one of the most important contemporary African American male artists. His work presents a unique opportunity to understand the need for a black, queer male artist to create something to cover and mask his body just in order to exist and navigate the world,” stated Best.

Written by Kelli Volonte.