KEVIN E. COLE (1960 - )
Emotional Circumstances I.

Acrylic and sand on shaped lauan wood and dowels, with cowrie shells, circa 2000. Approximately 438x438x400 mm; 17¼x17¼x15¾ inches. Titled in ink on the verso.

Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; private collection.

Untitled is an excellent example of Kevin Cole's painted mixed-media constructions on wood. Cole's grandfather inspired this ribboned "necktie" motif after a visit to a historic tree where African American men were lynched by their neckties on their way to vote during the Jim Crow Era. Cole uses painterly sensibilities to pay homage to the sordid history of African Americans while articulating compositions that seek to inspire beauty and strength.

Kevin Cole has become widely known for his abstract rendering of ties in brightly colored, three-dimensional abstract assemblage. Born in Pine Bluff, AR, in 1960, Cole graduated from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and received an MA in Art Education and Painting from the University of Illinois and an MFA from the University of Northern Illinois. His works today are in many institutional collections, including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum.