Willie Cole, an internationally known sculptor, installation artist and printmaker, will present the eleventh annual Deem Distinguished Artist Lecture in the West Virginia University Division of Art on Tuesday, March 8.

Cole will speak at 6 p.m. in the Creative Arts Center’s Gladys G. Davis Theatre. A reception will follow at the Laura Mesaros Gallery. Both events are free and open to the public.

Cole is known for using discarded domestic objects such as irons, ironing boards, hair dryers and bowling balls to assemble powerful, iconic sculptures, installations and prints that draw on the personal and cultural history associated with a specific artifact.

He first used discarded irons to create figurative forms reminiscent of African art. Recently, his interactive installations have featured simple game board structures, including the element of chance, to physically engage the viewer.

His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and France, including many solo exhibitions in New York City and Paris.

He received a B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1976. He has served as artist-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, The Capp Street Project in San Francisco, and the Contemporary in Baltimore. His works are in many public and private collections. He work has also been the subject of individual exhibitions at the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. In June 2000 his work was shown at the Biennale of Lyons, France.

The annual Deem Distinguished Visiting Art Lecture is made possible through a donation to the WVU College of Creative Arts from Alison and Patrick Deem of Bridgeport. Alison Harper Deem is a WVU graduate and a member of the College of Creative Arts Board of Visitors. Patrick Deem is an attorney in Clarksburg.

For more information about the lecture, contact the WVU College of Creative Arts at 304-293-4841 ext. 3108.