Nick Cave (b. 1959) confronts violence and trauma with hopeful exuberance in vibrant art that ranges from sculpture and installation to video and performance. The best-known works in his ongoing Soundsuits series are sometimes displayed as static objects, but they come to life when worn for performances. The costumes consume a body in beads, sequins, faux fur, dyed hair, buttons, raffia, colorful fabric, salvaged musical instruments and an eclectic gathering of other materials so that a performer is kaleidoscopically transformed.
The humble and widely familiar materials that comprise the Soundsuits — frequently acquired at flea markets and thrift stores — are elevated in these assemblages, reorganized so that they become something majestic. Cave created the first of the Soundsuits in 1992 in reaction to the Los Angeles police department’s beating of Rodney King the previous year. In dramatically masking a person, the suits can, as Cave puts it, “hide gender, race, class — so you’re forced to look at something without judgment.”
Born in Fulton, Missouri, Cave is now based in Chicago and continues to push into new media as he advocates for social justice and empowerment through his art. His study of fiber arts at the Kansas City Art Institute as well as his summers with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the early 1980s led to his enduring interest in the body. Whether bringing a percussive performance with dancers and horse-like costumes to Grand Central Terminal in 2013 or filling a gallery at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art with a monumental installation of found objects woven with millions of beads in response to gun violence and the deaths of Black people at the hands of police in 2016, Cave reveals the power of joy through dynamic materials.
Find original Nick Cave art now on 1stDibs.
Soundsuit #6 (Performance Art, Artistic Expression, Contemporary Art)
By Nick Cave
Located in Kansas City, MO
Nick Cave Soundsuit #6 Year: 2010 Archival Pigment Print on Premium Rag Size: 17 x 12 in. Edition: 200 Signed by hand on label COA provided Ref.: 924802-2069 Tags: #NickCave #Missou...
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Specimens By Nick Cave
By Nick Cave
Located in Dubai, Dubai
Specimens By Nick Cave Nick Cave is an Australian singer, songwriter, author, and musician. He is best known as the frontman of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. His music combines rock...
Lithograph, Paper
Ode to Goya's Maya
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
10.5 x 16 inches - Edition 3 of 7 with 2 APs framing is an additional $265. Photography and acting are kindred spirits in the new series by e2 (Elizabeth Kleinveld...
Archival Pigment
$295
H 9 in W 12 in D 0.75 in
Players (Signed and dated by Tina Barney) monograph by renowned photographer
By Tina Barney
Located in New York, NY
Tina Barney Players (Signed and dated by Tina Barney), 2010 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (Hand signed and dated by Tina Barney) Signed and dated 3/9/2011 by Tina Barney 9 × 12...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Board
$195
H 11 in W 8.5 in D 1 in
Philip Treacy hardback book, hand signed by Philip Treacy, milliner to the stars
Located in New York, NY
Philip Treacy hardback book (hand signed by Philip Treacy), 2013 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed by legendary milliner Philip Treacy) hand signed by Philip Treacy on the half title page 11 × 8 1/2 × 1 inches Hand signed by Philip Treacy on the half title page. Book information: Publisher: Phaidon Press (February 5, 2013) English; Hardcover; 200 pages with over 200 photographs Review "Lovely... All the most iconic designs are here."―The Observer "How did one man change our minds on headgear? Philip Treacy by Kevin Davies celebrates [...] backroom moments of Treacy's career, no less striking than the headpieces he creates... The unseen stories behind all the 'moments'."―The Independent "An usually revealing insight into the designer's work."―Harper's Bazaar "Revealing [...] photos of Treacy at work. He looks determined and serious, but he has a kind face and he's never a poseur... In short, this is a cool book about a great guy."―VICE "The head-topper extraordinaire gets a tip of the cap in the new book... Featuring over 200 images of the milliner's museum-quality lids, including head-turning snaps of mega-fierce singer and Bond villainess Grace Jones."―InStyle "Inside the pages are 200 intimate pictures covering everything from Treacy's years at 69 Elizabeth Street to the scene backstage at fashion shows to the dignified funeral held for Treacy's beloved Jack Russell terrier, Mr. Pig."―The New York Times Style Magazine blog More about Philip Tracey...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Ode to Manet's Olympia
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
18 x 24 inches - Edition 2 of 5 with 2 APs framing is an additional $420. Shot in New Orleans in 2011, background illustrated by Marco Ventura Inspired by Manet’s Olympia...
Archival Pigment
Ode to the Pinching D'Estrées Sisters
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
16 x 24 inches - Edition 3 of 5 with 2 APs Available framing $420 Shot in 2011 in Amsterdam Inspired by an anonymous artist of the Fontainebleau School’s Presumed Portrait of Gabr...
Archival Pigment
Ode to Titian's Venus of Urbino
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
10.5 x 16 inches - Edition 3 of 7 with 2 APs framing is an additional $420. Photography and acting are kindred spirits in the new series by e2 (Elizabeth Kleinveld and Epaul Julien...
Archival Pigment
Ode to Goya's Maya
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
16 x 24 inches - Edition 2 of 5 with 2 APs framing is an additional $420. Photography and acting are kindred spirits in the new series by e2 (Elizabeth Kleinveld and Epaul Julien)....
Archival Pigment
$400
H 11 in W 8.5 in
Stonescript3, mixed media monoprint on paper, neutral greys and green
By Karin Bruckner
Located in New York, NY
Lithography oil inks on white BFK Rives Printmaking Paper. Unframed. 11" x 8.5" At the core of the dialogue between the artist and the work is an attempt to push the medium to its l...
Mixed Media, Monoprint, Paper, Ink, Oil, Lithograph
Ode to van der Weyden's Portrait of a Lady
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
16 x 10.5 inches - Edition 1 of 7 with 2 APs framing is an additional $265. Photography and acting are kindred spirits in the new series by e2 (Elizabeth Kleinveld and Epaul Julien...
Archival Pigment
Ode to Ingres' Valpincon Bather
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
16 x 10.5 inches - Edition 5 of 7 with 2 APs framing is an additional $265. Photography and acting are kindred spirits in the new series by e2 (Elizabeth Kleinveld and Epaul Julien...
Archival Pigment
$475
H 9 in W 6 in D 1 in
HOW TO SEE Looking, Talking and Thinking about Art (hand signed by David Salle)
By David Salle
Located in New York, NY
David Salle HOW TO SEE Looking, Talking and Thinking about Art (hand signed, dated and inscribed), 2016 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed and inscribed to Kevin) Hand ...
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Ode to Van Eyck's Self Portrait
By E2 - Kleinveld & Julien
Located in New Orleans, LA
24 x 17.5 inches - Edition 3 of 5 with 2 APs framing is an additional $420. Shot in 2012 in New Orleans Inspired by Van Eyck’s Portrait of a Man (Self-Port...
Archival Pigment
NICK CAVE DOUBLE SIDED, INFLATABLE PUNCHING BAG
By Nick Cave
Located in New York, NY
Standing a full five-feet tall and donning a multi-colored human-hair Soundsuit on one side and a swirling sequined Soundsuit on the other is every kids perfect sparring partner. Fil...
Plastic