Willie Cole

Willie Cole (American, b. 1955)

A self-described “urban archeologist,” Cole is a 1976 graduate of the NY School of Visual Arts and also studied at the Art Students League. He is known for prints, sculptures and installations that use everyday objects, including iron burning, high-heeled shoes, and water bottles, in transformative ways, to create chairs, abstract sunbursts, and faces. The recipient of awards, including the 2006 David C. Driskell Prize from the High Museum, his work was included in the Metropolitan Museum’s 2011 Reconfiguring an African Icon, and his solo exhibitions have travelled widely.

Important Source Material:

Sims, Patterson. Anxious Objects: Willie Cole’s Favorite Brands. Montclair, NJ: Montclair Art Museum, 2006.

Princenthal, Nancy. Afterburn: Willie Cole: selected works 1997-2004. Laramie, WY: University of Wyoming, 2004.

NHS