Jim Cole: Duet for Dan
Jim Cole
Duet for Dan 2011
Stainless steel
At first I built gardens that contained structure, in addition to plant material. These gardens referenced traditional elements of art and at the same time stimulated the senses. My intent was to create a multi-layered experience that touched upon memory, associated meaning, and formal aesthetics.
As opportunities to exhibit my work presented themselves, I responded by choosing the element most easily adapted to a gallery setting—the primary interactive component—the object to sit on. Eventually, I added tables. Every object gains meaning from its surroundings; its character is defined by formal attributes that can be altered in subtle ways. In this Brattleboro Museum garden, Duet for Dan (Freed) is one element in a concert of visual and emotional experiences, destined to evolve in unforeseen ways.
— Jim Cole, 2011
Jim Cole’s Duet for Dan was commissioned by BMAC, with support from Judith Freed and others, for the 2011 dedication of the Rubinstein-Freed Sculpture Garden adjacent to the museum. The Sculpture Garden honors Linda Rubinstein’s decades of service to BMAC as a staff member and the memory of Dan Freed (1927-2010), a dear friend of the museum.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jim Cole received a Master’s of Fine Arts in sculpture from Cornell University, a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Minneapolis School of Art and an Associate degree in engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He taught Sculpture at Cornell University and has been a member of the Department of Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design since 1997.
Cole’s work bridges the gap between sculpture and furniture and is in the permanent collections of many prestigious museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, the American Craft Museum and the Arkansas Art Center. His work is also in many public collections, such as The General Mills Corporation, Gellert and Cutler, PC and Northern Duchess Hospital. His professional activities have included numerous solo and group exhibitions. Perhaps his most notable showing was in the Modern Metal Works exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993-94.
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