Now CULTURE
CURATING GREATNESS
Cece Cole’s artistic career has organically grown into a multidimensional venture
PHOTO BY FAUSTO FERNANDEZ
BY MEGAN DEMKO
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So Scottsdale! July ‘21
Many times, artists begin their pieces with an idea of the final outcome in mind and that concept changes until the artwork has been completed. This process is much like Cece Cole’s career as an artist, which has organically transformed since she started. Cole’s interest in the arts began at a young age, thanks in part to her family’s involvement in the creative world. She was first exposed to art at her grandmother’s studio while growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana, and while exploring art museums and wineries when visiting her father in California. “I think that exposure had an impact on my decision to follow a career path in art,” she says. “I studied art in high school and then college. It was something I could do well. I enjoyed the lifestyle and the feeling that I am and always will be learning and making things. Cole went on to graduate with her bachelor’s of fine arts from University of Louisiana, where she focused on mixed media studies. After a six-year academia break, she then attended and graduated University of Iowa with her Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts. Upon graduating, she received a Fountainhead and Virginia Commonwealth fellowship, continuing on as a faculty instructor for a year after the program. Cole then went abroad for a residency and exhibition in Berlin, Germany, before relocating to New York where she traveled to Japan, Mexico, Hungary and Slovakia while working. In 2010, she moved back to her hometown in Louisiana, teaching high school students through Lafayette Public School’s Talented Art Program for four years before moving to Scottsdale. Today, Cole not only still creates art, but she is also an entrepreneur and recently became the curator at Mountain Shadows. “I describe my work as mixed media installation,” says Cole, noting she is currently developing work to show in 2022. Her companies include Cole/Lab (www.colelab.art) and Good Company Contemporary Art and Design (www.goodcompanyaz. com), formed in 2018 and 2020, respectively. “Cole/Lab provides a place to direct clients seeking an informed artist’s perspective on projects big and small,” says Cole, noting her goal in Good Company is to create a financial support system for local artists, designers, and fabricators of all backgrounds. “Good Company Art and Design is a multidisciplinary art and design studio and online directory. Our aim is to create new opportunities for local artists, designers, and fabricators through a direct funding scholarship program.” The newest addition to Cole’s resume is as the curator for The Gallery at Mountain Shadows, where her focus is on displaying contemporary art and new media by local and nonlocal emerging talent. The Gallery is updated every two months and the current exhibit, Recent Work by Matt Magee, will be on display through Aug. 1.
