The first time I stumbled upon a Nick Cave piece (at the Seattle Art Museum) my initial reaction was one of confusion. Thinking of musican Nick Cave, of the Bad Seeds, it just didn't seem plausible to me that such a sinister frontman could lead a double life as the creator of whimsical, bejeweled ceremonial robes.

I was right. This Nick Cave is an African American artist who grew up in central Missouri with seven brothers. Early in his career, Cave designed window displays at Macys in NYC. He also did a stint in fashion design, and trained as a professional dancer with Alvin Ailey. These days he's known widely for his garment-like fabric sculptures and his performance pieces. 

Artist, dancer, educator, messenger. These are just some ways to describe Nick Cave, an artist who evades easy definition.

'Fabulous,' one of Cave's favorite ways to describe things that he likes, also works. Because of Cave’s boundless creativity and melding of sculpture, fashion, and performance, his work – at once both exciting and puzzling – defies neat categorization. 'Educator' is perhaps his most enduring attribute. Even after attaining international renown, Cave continues to share his love of communal creation with his students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was also teaching when he created the first of his Soundsuits.

The Soundsuits are Cave’s signature artworks. They are sculptures made from found and natural materials, furs, fabrics – basically anything that Cave can get his hands on. A minimalist Nick Cave is not. Every work bursts with decoration, bright colors, a panoply of materials and, of course, the sounds that emanate when they are activated and danced in. The first Soundsuit emerged as a response to the 1992 riots that erupted in Los Angeles after the acquittal of the police officer who brutally beat Rodney King the year before. Contemplating the emotional aftermath, Cave saw a twig while sitting in the park, and it sparked the idea of creating sculptures to be worn like clothing, simultaneously inspiring strength and anonymity, and that have come to serve as both a creative outlet and spiritual protection. Cave has since made more than 500 Soundsuits.

Race and identity are central themes of Cave’s work. His favorite artwork is a painting by Barkley L. Hendricks named Steve. Cave remembers seeing it at an exhibition at Chicago’s Navy Pier in 1980. He loved that Hendricks was painting someone who looked like him. Almost thirty years later, he continues to grapple with ideas of representation and visibility. For the 2014 installation Made by Whites for Whites, Cave traveled around the United States filling a shipping container with all the racist items he could find at flea markets and thrift stores.

Growing up in Fulton, Missouri as one of seven boys to a single mother, community was a formative element for Cave. His older brother Jack was also an artist, and they often created together and alongside one another. Today, Cave shares his collaborative, creative space – known as Facility – with Jack, Cave’s partner, and the surrounding community. The name of the space, Facility, evokes Andy Warhol’s factory, though Cave makes room for the product of other people's expressions, not just his own. It’s a place for communion, collaboration, and creativity. It’s also where Cave pays his success forward. Facility provides space for up-and-coming artists, who often work on community-oriented art projects with the children who attend nearby schools.