NEW YORK, NY.- Sargent’s Daughters is presenting “Mind, Body and Soul,” an expansive solo presentation of new and historic works by acclaimed multimedia interdisciplinary artist Willie Cole. Cole’s practice is at once highly conceptual and materially grounded, exploring the possibilities for everyday objects to reveal greater truths about the world we inhabit. In his first exhibition with the gallery, Cole will present works spanning three decades, including his signature found-object sculptures, large-scale prints, and scorched wooden panels.
As the exhibition’s title suggests, Cole’s multidimensional work resonates simultaneously across mediums, disciplines, and themes. For the artist, the Mind refers to knowledge of the self and of World, American, and African Diasporic histories; the Body to materiality; and the Soul to the spirit and meaning of things. Cole interweaves these three forms of understanding within each work, allowing them to speak intellectually, formally, and spiritually all at once. Yet, as the title’s rhythmic quality suggests, he does this intuitively and improvisationally. His practice transcends specific media or subject matter, moving fluidly across genres and iconographies to explore history, consumerism, and environmentalism.
On a tangible level, Cole is a master of Dada-inspired material transformation, manipulating shoes, water bottles, hot irons, musical instruments, and other quotidian objects. These materials are never disguised; instead, they are endlessly reiterated and repurposed as Cole explores their formal potential — from the light-refracting properties of clear plastic water bottles to the parabolic line of a high heel. At the same time, these utilitarian objects are mined for their layered cultural and historical associations. The iron, for example, evokes histories of domestic, gendered, and racialized labor. Cole’s sensitivity to these resonances is deeply informed by personal and diasporic histories, including his great-grandfather’s migration from Cuba to North Carolina.
The reconfigured shapes of Cole’s works also reference a wide range of aesthetic histories. In front of the gallery, the oversized chandelier and wall panels evoke Baroque interiors, even though they are constructed entirely from water bottles and wire. In the center of the space, sculptures constructed from high-heeled shoes reference traditional African masks and totemic figures. Cole’s large-scale prints, also displayed in the main gallery, reimagine African Diasporic history through ironing boards and guitars, invoking historical printmaking lexicons.
Displayed together, these works capture the primary concerns of Cole’s pioneering practice. Each piece begins at the register of everyday materials and transforms them into broader investigations of history and culture. While Cole’s wide-ranging lexicon extends beyond fine art, into music, fashion, and design, these pieces reflect a monumental career that helped shape the field of contemporary sculpture.
