Jack Shainman Gallery
513 West 20th Street, 212-645-1701
Chelsea
October 13 - November 11, 2006
Reception: Friday, October 13, 6 - 8 PM
Web Site
This exhibition is comprised of a selection of works titled Soundsuits, named for the sounds made when the sculptures are worn. Constructed from found and recycled objects, thrift-store purchases, and hand-fabricated elements and comprised of materials such as vintage masks, beads, plastic flowers, cloth, and sticks that are intuitively combined to form complex and highly seductive visual surfaces.
Reminiscent of African ceremonial costumes, yet similarly connected to haute couture, Cave’s Soundsuits are physical manifestations of his energy. He has said, `I believe that the familiar must move towards the fantastic. I want to evoke feelings that are unnamed, that aren’t realized except in dreams.’ Thus, through the acts of collecting and reconfiguring, Cave explores and reiterates cultural, ritualistic and ceremonial concepts. Concurrently, his focus on the connotations of materials as a way to construct narratives, coupled with the fact that the wearer is at times completely concealed, allows the work to transcend preconceived notions of class, race, and sexuality.