January 18, 2009
Ron Miriello post on Willie Cole and a Growing Bicycle Love
I’ve noticed an undeniable resurgence in the interest in bicycles- older bicycles- over the past year. Classic steel-frame bikes in particular, have made a return and are being recrafted now into individual custom-assembled, personal statements about their maker.
The show we had here at Miriello Grafico/The Logan last September – Reinventing The Wheel- featured cool frameworks by Sky Boyer and the boys at VeloCult, in San Diego. I must have six friends currently scouting for particular frames they can build their custom creations around. Buying off the shelf is out, scanning eBay and garage sales for forgotten and neglected bike parts is in.
Pushing the trend even further from the fine arts end, is Willie Cole, an artist from New Jersey (born 1955) who transforms ordinary domestic parts, irons, lawn jockeys, and bicycles parts into sculpture with references to African-American and West African religion, mythology and culture. Cole has shown at The Whitney, The Walker and The National Gallery in D.C. A Toronto friend sent me these shots from their museum where she spotted Cole’s work this week.
Find out more on Cole and his other work from Kimberly Brooks’ article on the Huffington Post.