In keeping with the artist's eclectic style, this lavishly illustrated catalogue features a mix of poetic, narrative, and scholarly perspectives on Nick Cave's Mammoth. Accompanying a landmark exhibition, this publication is a creative excavation of shared and personal memory. Contributions from Sarah Newman, Cherise Smith, Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, and J. Drew Lanham engage themes of identity, environmental crisis, and institutional critique. The catalogue also features a sketchbook-style exploration of Cave's studio and mind, including in-process photography, artist sketches, and handwritten notes. This wide-ranging book represents a significant contribution to scholarship on the artist, and will be a lasting resource for artists, art historians, and general readers. Accompanies the exhibition Nick Cave: Mammoth at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, February 13, 2026 January 3, 2027. AUTHORS: Sarah Newman is James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Cherise Smith is professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Art History at the University of Texas, Austin. Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw is associate professor of History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania. J. Drew Lanham is professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, and 2022 MacArthur Fellow. SELLING POINTS: . Nick Cave-born 1959 in Fulton, Missouri, and now active in Chicago, Illinois-is an artist who defies categorization. Working between sculpture, installation, performance, video and fashion, and best known for his exuberant Soundsuits, Cave has long been interested in the intersections of history and identity. . Cave's bronze sculptures, beaded wall hangings, video and found-object assemblages, tell stories of identity, environmental crisis, societal inequality, and institutional history. . Cave's art can be found nationally. Some examples are MOMA, NYC; Brooklyn Museum, NY; Times Square-42nd Street and 42nd Street-Bryant Park stations, New York City; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C; MFA, Boston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Detroit Institute of Arts; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, AR; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, MO; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Birmingham Museum of Art, AL; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 250 colour illustrations
