Cole Carothers: This May Surprise You

Past Exhibition

Starts November 17, 2023 5:00 PM EST
Ends February 2, 2024 11:00 AM EST
Caza Sikes

Overview

Cole Carothers: This May Surprise New is an exhibition of the artists new work at Caza Sikes. Opening on November 17th from 5-9 PM, Carothers will exhibit over 25 new works. This jaw-dropping show features never-before-seen works by the artist executed over the past year.

The exhibit will run through January 10th. Please join us for cocktails and appetizers at the opening!

A Cincinnati native, Cole Carothers received his BA from Colorado College in 1971 and his MFA from American University in 1978. While teaching in multiple universities (including the Cincinnati Art Academy) Cole Carothers continued to paint and participate in exhibitions across the country. In Carother's words, "My goal, as an artist, is to create paintings that imagine and reveal the immensity and wonder of our world; paintings that elicit pause, calm and joy to the viewer." He has permanent collections in the Cincinnati Art Museum, the University of Kentucky Art Museum, Georgetown College, Lakeland College, and the University of Cincinnati. From 2011-2013 his paintings were hung in the Ohio Governor's executive offices in Columbus, Ohio, and he has a current installation in the U.S. Ambassador's office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Opening reception on Friday, November 17th from 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Artist Statement

this may surprise you …

I just read the other day how some people far younger than I struggle with post covid effects of concentration and memory. The pandemic along with social and political upheaval over recent years exacted emotional and psychological costs from anyone paying attention. Artists are familiar with solitude and the studio can be a sanctuary from these issues. Yet it is also a place for introspection and action. The three themes of work in this exhibition, furies/chairs/Michigan, were ongoing simultaneously in my studio and not without awareness of our situation.

The furies were an immediate and visceral response to the covid onslaught of isolation, social distancing, masks, mortality, and uncertainty.
The chairs have constancy in my painting, like self-portraits, they sit motionless, exude presence and wait attentively. Chairs embody human anatomy with their seat, back, arms and legs. They invite us to sit and to think, read, rest or work. They participate in our daily lives mute but responsive.. Like courtiers, a chair provides comfort and pause. Each has has its own personality.

Michigan, its landscape, light, and weather, is a balm for me. As a refuge from urban cacophony, congestion, pavement, television etc. Being there was to be with Nature, outdoors, in her beauty and timelessness.

So, perhaps, it’s not a surprise that we juggle life and all that it throws at us. Like some routine of The Flying Karamozov Brothers, we must learn to juggle, hatchets, feathers, and jello at the same time. Smile and take joy that we are still here, living this incredible adventure- juggling what comes our way.

Cole Carothers