Willie Cole: Home Assembly

This solo exhibition of work by Willie Cole, who was an Arts/Industry resident in the Kohler Co. Pottery in 2000, features newly commissioned sculptures alongside a selection of works spanning over three decades.

Cole visualizes the reality that domestic spaces are often tangled with histories of enslaved labor. He uses the visual vocabulary of the domestic sphere—shoes, tools, furniture, for example—to bring forward the grief and intimacy that linger within private spaces.

By using craft and household objects in his artworks, Cole spreads awareness of women’s and enslaved peoples’ labor that has been ignored or under recognized and is integral to the history of the United States. These reflective works are Cole’s initiative to complicate labor histories and lack of visual representations in the art canon.

Home Assembly highlights Cole’s refiguring of familiar and frequently discarded objects to confront and demand attention from his audience. His assemblages and prints convey intricate histories and messages, demonstrating the complexities and the commonalities shared in the cultivation of homes and the lives they shelter. Cole frequently uses the iron —burn marks, the ironing board, and the iron itself—as parts of human figures, as protective shields, as the shape of ships that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas, and to commemorate the work of women.

The chandelier sculptures on view allude to the community investment involved in constructing a home. When creating these, Cole often works with specific neighborhoods to collect discarded plastic bottles, resulting in community connections and cleaner streets.

Home Assembly honors Cole’s impact on the fields of labor and methodical craft, which are at the core of the Arts/ Industry program.

Image: Willie Cole, The Royal Roost I, 2024; saxophones, vintage suitcase, leather, and wood. Courtesy of the artist.