Nick Cave: Forothermore

Nick Cave, a black, queer Chicagoan, has been making art for nearly three decades. Forothermore, at the Guggenheim, divides it into two galleries:  the serious stuff and the fun stuff.  Although fun stuff has put him aboard a speeding fame train in the past decade, his earlier work looks more closely at his African American identity through family heritage and symbolism.   Found objects and meticulous construction bridge the two phases of his career.

I Wouldn't Bet Against It (2007)

Forbidden and Desire (1998)

Forbidden and Desire (detail)

Penny Catcher (detail, 2009)

This giant work looks like a flattened Soundsuit, the most popular of his creations.

Garden Plot (aka Wall Relief, 2013)

Garden Plot (close-up)

But Cave, who was bitten by the fashion bug at an early age, hasn't entirely abandoned the more serious work.  I particularly enjoyed this multimedia creation, which reminded me of the same themes that Suzyn Lori Parks explores in Topdog/Underdog.  Denied opportunity, African American men have had to hone a different set of skills to survive.

Hustle Coat (2021)

I love the Obama wink, which replaces the phony Rolex logos you typically see when somebody on a street corner is trying to sell you a counterfeit watch.

Hustle Coat (detail)

This work pays tribute to the legacy of Cave's grandfather through an agglomeration of his tools and Christianity, both of which inform the artist's creativity.

Time and Again (2009)

It's difficult not to be struck by the contrasting tonal juxtaposition of some works. Profound gentleness here.

Rescue (2013)

And brutal anguish here.

Untitled (2018)

Sacrifice (2014) 

Cave's "Soundsuits," congregated in another gallery, offset the solemnity of his other work and put a smile on everyone's face.  Some displayed here date back to 2013.  Imagine encountering them on the dance floor, where they have been known to make a disco move or two (Cave also DJs).

His selection and use of found materials reminds me of both Mike Kelley and Machine Dazzle.

Tondon (2022)