Musician Nick Cave will present new work at Xavier Hufkens’ Burssels gallery in 2024. Opening on April 5, 2024, the exhibition will feature Cave’s “The Devil—A Life (2020–22),” his first major visual art series. Comprised of 17 glazed ceramic figures, the display will illustrate the life story of the Devil, drawing inspiration from the flat-bottomed Staffordshire figures of the Victorian era.
Cave’s songs and musical compositions often interweave themes of religious faith, reflecting his complex relationship with Christianity.
“What began as a desire to create a single little figure of the devil as a vehicle for a deep red glaze turned into a journey toward some kind of absolution from a series of devastating events,” Cave said in a press release for the exhibit. “[The ceramic works]—and in fact, all the songs I write—talk about the idea of forgiveness, the idea that there is a moral virtue in beauty. It’s a kind of balance of our sins.”
Born in Australia in 1957, Cave devoted himself to painting before embarking on his illustrious musical career, which includes leading bands such as The Birthday Party from 1973 to 1983 and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from 1984 to the present day. Along with his recent adventure in ceramics, he is also the author of a memoir titled Faith, hope and carnage. Cave studied painting at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, before moving to Berlin and London in the 1980s.
Cave’s ceramic pieces debuted in Finland at the Sara Hildén Art Museum in 2022, as part of an exhibition that also featured works by Thomas Houseago (portrayed by Xavier Hufkens) and American actor Brad Pitt.
