Nick Cave is an American fabric sculpture, dancer and performance artist.

Nick Cave is an American fabric sculpture, dancer and performance artist.

He first gained widespread recognition for his “Soundsuits”: full-body outfits crafted from discarded objects found in antique shops and flea markets. Part sculpture, part costume, the complex, kaleidoscopically colorful works of art can be displayed as objects, and also often feature in solo and group movement performances. They are the kind of artistic hybrids that could only be created by an artist such as Cave, who trained as a dancer through theAlvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York and now directs the fashion graduate program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Chicago-based artist currently has an exhibition at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.  The exhibition will be on view through May 4.

photos:©nick cave / james prinza / michael macor