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Willie Cole

Curlee Raven Holton

& Raven Fine Art Editions Distinguished Art Fellow

CVA Gallery

October 24 – December 1, 2023

reception: November 9, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Artist Talk: November 9, 6 p.m.

KENT, Ohio – The School of Art Collection and Galleries at 5X���� is pleased to announce the Curlee Raven Holton & Raven Fine Art Editions Distinguished Art Fellowship. This fellowship/residency will invite artists of national and international reputations to interact with KSU students, staff, and the broader community.  

The inaugural Fellow is the artist, Willie Cole. There will be an exhibit of Cole’s work in the CVA (Center for the Visual Arts) Gallery, October 24 – December 1st, 2023. There will also be a reception on November 9th, 4–6 p.m., and a talk by the artist at 6 pm.  

Curlee Raven Holton, the donor who has created this fellowship opportunity for the School of Art states “I am honored to have partnered with the 5X���� School of Art Collection and Galleries under the leadership of Anderson Turner and the College of Fine Art in establishing the Curlee Raven Holton & Raven Fine Art Editions Distinguished Art Fellowship….What makes this residency so unique is its focus on historical and contemporary artistic practices in the context of research and visual scholarship.  Artists are often thought of only as makers of aesthetic objects for the viewer's pleasure. However, if given the opportunity and environment the artist's inquiry and creative significance becomes much more. They not only express and articulate their lived experiences through their work, but they also understand the significance of cultural, historical, and social events as a context for their practice. Artists can help us recognize important historical moments and facts and offer illuminating insights that broaden our understanding of the past and in some cases appreciate more fully our present realities.        

I graduated from KSU with an MFA with honors in 1990 with a focus in printmaking and went on to receive recognition as a practicing artist, educator, and administrator. I believe my wide range of diverse academic experiences at KSU, and the mentorship of my teachers prepared me for a successful career and a strong belief in the power of collaborative engagement.” 

In 1996 as a Professor of Art, Curlee Raven Holton at Lafayette College established the Experimental Printmaking Institute to provide a diverse cultural and artistic experience for both the student body, college community and public at large. During a twenty-year period, he hosted over 100 artists from the US and internationally. During this period works were published for institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and included in prestigious collections, the Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Phillips Collection, Smithsonian Museum, and the Folgers Shakespeare Library.  

In 2006 Holton refined his collaborative workshop vision with Raven Fine Art Edition. Raven Fine Art edition provides a dedicated workspace for a select group of important artists to investigate how the printmaking medium can contribute to their creative output and career objectives. Many of the artists working with Raven Edition, both established and emerging, have produced museum quality works that have been collected and exhibited nationally and internationally.     

About Willie Cole:  

Willie Cole (b. 1955 in Somerville, New Jersey) lives and works in New Jersey.  

His work has been the subject of several one-person museum exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998), Bronx Museum of the Arts (2001), Miami Art Museum (2001), Tampa Museum of Art (2004), University of Wyoming Art Museum (2006), Montclair Art Museum (2006), College of Wooster Art Museum (2013-14). 

In 2010, a survey exhibition of his work on paper (1975-2010) took place at the James Gallery of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and traveled to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama and Rowan University Art Gallery, New Jersey. 

Several of his sculptures were included in “Reconfiguring an African Icon: Odes to the Mask by Modern and Contemporary Artists from Three Continents” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (2011). In 2013, a traveling exhibition “Complex Conversations: Willie Cole Sculptures and Wall Works” opened at Albertine Monroe-Brown Gallery at Western Michigan University. 

In 2015, Cole’s work was included in “Represent: 200 Years of African American Art” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and “Wild Noise: Artwork from the Bronx Museum of the Arts” at El Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana. In 2016, his work was included in “Disguise: Masks and Global African Art” at the Brooklyn Museum. 

“Willie Cole: On-Site” opened at the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland and traveled to the Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire, and Arthur Ross Gallery, Philadelphia in 2016. The following year, Cole had solo exhibitions at the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame and at the College of Architecture and Design Gallery at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In 2019, “Willie Cole: Beauties” opened at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University as well as “Willie Cole: Bella Figura” at Alexander and Bonin, New York. 

•All events are free and open to the public. 

•This exhibit is presented with support from the Ohio Arts Council. 

The CVA Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., 

Follow the 5X���� School of Art Collection and Galleries on social media: , .  Website: galleries.kent.edu 

About the School of Art: The School of Art at 5X���� was established in 1941 and maintains a tradition of excellence in visual arts education, creation, scholarship, and leadership. Its undergraduate and graduate programs in the visual arts offer a range of directions and opportunities in the fields of art education, art history, and studio art, which includes a comprehensive array of studio disciplines: ceramics, drawing, glass, jewelry/metals/enameling, painting, print media and photography, sculpture and expanded media, and textiles. The School of Art Collection and Galleries consist of six exhibition spaces located on the Kent campus and downtown Kent and a collection of over 4,000 artworks and objects. The School of Art is located at the Center of the Visual Arts at 325 Terrace Dr. in Kent. The 127,900-square-foot facility — twice the length of a football field —had its grand opening in 2016 and houses all School of Art studios, labs, and classrooms under one roof.