On November 18, iconic artist and visionary Nick Cave presented his much-anticipated survey exhibition “Nick Cave: Forothermore” at the Guggenheim Museum following an extraordinary run at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Alongside the sweeping show, Cave and his partner, artist Bob Faust, teamed up with Chicago legend Eli’s Cheesecake in the creation of a joyful—and delicious—collaboration. The three were first brought together as recipients of the 2022 Chicago Mayor’s Medal of Honor, having made immense contributions to The Windy City. From then on, ideas were in the works for a sweet collaboration to elicit happiness and to give back to Cave and Faust’s Facility Foundation, a non-profit that assists young artists with scholarships, commissions, and life-changing opportunities.
Courtesy of Nick Cave and Eli’s Cheesecake.
“Forothermore,” presented in collaboration with Ford Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and curator Naomi Beckwith, brings Cave’s vibrant and illustrious oeuvre to the public through April 10, 2023. The exhibition spans rarely seen early works to momentous installations, textiles, videos, sculptures, and the emblematic Soundsuits, which act as camouflages of empowerment, boldly fusing costume design and sculptural artistry with the creation of instruments. The title of the exhibition is a word coined by Cave to evoke a passion for carving out space for society’s marginalized. The captivating presentation meditates on 20th- and early 21st-century affirmations that have or have not come to fruition, especially for queer people of color and working-class communities.
Within the Guggenheim’s tower galleries, “Forothermore” is sectioned into three parts and pays homage to a traditional African American greeting: “What It Was,” examines Cave’s earliest creations and his initial inspirations of family and friends, as well as Chicago icon and musician George Clinton’s vivid Parliament-Funkadelic collective; “What It Is” focuses on themes of injustice, loss, grief, and memorial, along with collective comfort, in the artist’s work; “What It Shall Be” exhibit’s the latest Soundsuits and Tondo artworks, which illustrate systems of survival in the midst of oppression.
Photo by Neil John Burger, courtesy of Nick Cave and Eli’s Cheesecake.
Surrounding the meaningful exhibition, Cave and Faust worked together with Eli’s Cheesecake to transform the bakery’s beloved chocolate-dipped cheesecake bites into a bespoke set of culinary delights spotlighting various flavors and charming symbols of hearts, smiley faces, equality signs, stars, and peace signs. “Love and Happiness Equal Peace” is the heartfelt message offered by the colorful and uniquely designed confections and packaging. “This rainbow package contains an extremely delicious collection of life tenets chosen and designed by myself and created by the extraordinary team at Eli’s, as a response to my exhibition titled Forothermore,” explained Cave. “I see these tenets as guideposts as well as filters that warm and connect us to each other.”
Courtesy of Nick Cave and Eli’s Cheesecake.
Photo by Neil John Burger, courtesy of Nick Cave and Eli’s Cheesecake.
