Nick Cave ('82 Fiber)
Fine Artist and Professor
In addition to teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nick is a performer and fashion designer of world-wide acclaim. His sculptures are composites of artifacts the artist has gathered from swap meets and flea markets and invoke discussion about important issues of gender, race and class.
Nick is celebrated for his Soundsuits, which are elaborately designed assemblages of unexpected materials that emit sounds as the person wearing them moves. His work has been featured in numerous publications and displayed in art museums around the world.
“At KCAI, I learned the importance of being able to allow myself to explore the possibilities and to know that if I were to fall, I would still have the support of my professors. My professors challenged me, which allowed me to build trust in myself and to have a point of view – to have the confidence and the belief that I could turn this into a serious career. The school was a pivotal moment in my career.”