Reviewing Caleb Cole’s “Collective Feelings”

by Margot Striegel ‘24

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This past fall season, visual and performing artist Caleb Cole hosted a solo exhibition entitled “Collective Feelings” at Gallery Kayafas in Boston. An ode to the intimate synchrony of life, Cole’s display featured an assortment of photography, video, sculpture, objects, and portraiture. This multidisciplinary work conveyed a great many themes— community, queer identity, history, introspection, empowerment— all with a focus on the simultaneously societal and individualized nature of such ideals. With a grounded, conscious essence Cole urges the viewer to examine life with both an observational and vacant lens— to truly see our world, we must both silently accept and actively change. 

“Limp Wrist”

Caleb Cole

Cole’s exhibition is a uniquely personal experience, emphasized through their employment of techniques, portrayals, and items that reflect our world today. Brought up with love of “junk”, the artist turns to secondhand items and elements to compose his setting.It includes several areas, including a section of anthotype portraits, named “In Lieu of Flowers”. They are likenesses achieved through plant-based emulsions on coated paper. Cole’s makes use of roses from the artist’s own garden, giving the complexions of those depicted a purple glow. These faces are those of trans individuals murdered in the US and Puerto Rico within the past year, a poignantly eye-opening commemoration that offers contemplation and remembrance. Further, his employment of this timeless printing style grants these countenances a shadowy, low-tone finish that subtly enhances their meaning.

Concurrently with the emphasis on meditation there is a great feeling of empowerment and a call to action brought about by Cole’s expansive collage. In their many photographs, there is a distinct familiarity in their ambiguity, and as they bear different origins, they represent our human interconnectedness against difference. Many also highlight ideas of queer identity and expression, such as in “Limp Wrist”, a piece using color, position, and juxtaposition to enhance meaning. These pieces aesthetically complement the other objects within the exhibition, such as the vibrant crocheted quilt adorned with an assortment of secondhand pins. I love the contrast created within this work; not only do the colors exude uniqueness and individuality, but they come together in a fabulous tapestry bejeweled with little memos of encouragement— “WE CHALLENGE THEM ALL!”

Secondhand crochet quilt, secondhand pins

Caleb Cole

Cole has received many accolades in his years of work. They are 3 time Magenta Flash Forward Winner, 2009 Photolucida Critical Mass finalist, 2009 Acadia Award winner, 2011 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship Finalist, 2013 Hearst 8x10 Biennial Winner, 2015 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow, and most recently has been named a Top 50 Finalist for Critical Mass 2021, and selected amongst 10 finalists for the Print Center 96th Annual International Competition Winners for his portraits series “In Lieu of Flowers”. They host solo shows in major cities and in larger venues; their work can be seen in permanent collections in the Museum of Fine Arts, Newport Art Museum, and Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, as well as in other sites across the country. Cole is found on Instagram at @calebxcole.