red door gallery

Kevin Cole received his B.S. from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an M.A. in Art Education, University of Illinois at Urbana, and a M.F.A. from Northern Illinois University. Within the last twenty five years, he has received over seventy-four awards for his art work and his teaching, 18 Grants, 12 Fellowships, 44 awards in art, and 19 teaching awards. His awards include Nominated for the 2008 National Secondary Art Educator of the Year, Selected a 2007 History Makers, Chicago Il.  2006 Honorary Chairman Youth Art Month, Georgia Art Education Association, Merit Award, 2005 The Morgan National Juried Exhibition, 2004 Southeastern Region Secondary Art Educator of the Year , National Art Education Association,   2003 Secondary Art Educator of the Year by the Georgia Art Education Association, 11 Alive Class, Outstanding Georgia Educators,  2000 Knight Foundation Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA, 2000 Marie Walsh Sharpe Fellowship in Colorado Springs, Visiting Artist Fellowship, The Brandywine Workshop, 1997 Super Teacher by the Turner Broadcasting Systems, 1996 Georgia State Artist of the Year, an NEA Public Art Grant from Washington, DC, two Award for Excellence for Public Art by the Urban Design Commission, a Mellon Foundation Fellowship from New York, and Artist Grants from the Bureau of Cultural Affairs and Georgia Council for the Arts.

His art work has been featured in over 400 exhibitions throughout the United States within the last five years; these include 52 Solo Exhibitions, 96 Group Exhibitions, 98 Juried Exhibitions, and 99 Invitational Exhibitions.  Some of the exhibitions include, “Spiritual Sources”, Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, “Surviving Another Beat”, Porter/Troupe Gallery, San Diego, CA, “Sculptural Prints” Kevin Cole, Frank Stella, Sam Gilliam, Robert Rauchensberg, etc., “Brandywine Workshop”, Philadelphia, PA, “The Second Annual National Black Art Exhibition”, New York, and “Dallas African American Art Museum”, Dallas, TX, and “The Bomani Gallery”, San Francisco, CA. 

Mr. Cole’s artwork is included in over 1000 public, private, and corporate collections throughout the United States.  Public Collections include the William Jefferson Clinton  Library , Little Rock AR. Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock AR, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA, The David C Driskell Center University of Maryland, at College Park,  Dayton Institute of Art, Dayton Ohio, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia PA The Georgia Museum of Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA, the City of Charleston, Charleston, SC, Northern Illinois University, and Harriet Tubman Museum in Macon, GA., Corcoran Museum in Washington, DC, and the Tampa Museum in Tampa, FL.  Corporate Collections includes Atlanta, Gas Light,   Kaiser Permanente in Atlanta, GA, Gink, Mark, Inc., St. Louis, MO, Bank of America, Charlotte, NC; IBM, New York, King and Spaulding Law Firm, Atlanta, GA.  Private Collectors include Michael Jordan, formerly of the Washington Wizards, Monica Kaufman, Anchor Woman WSB-TV, and Dallas Austin of  Film & Records Producer, Brad Sellers, formerly of the Chicago Bulls Darrell Walker, former Head Coach Toronto Raptors, and Bernard King, former NBA basketball player.

He has created over thirty public art works.  Public Art Works can be found in the new Georgia International Convention Center, Atlanta City Hall, Georgia State University, the United Way, and the Forest Avenue Public Library in Des Moines, IA and The Coca-Cola Centennial Olympic Mural for the 1996 Olympic Games.  Recently, he finished a commission for the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport in Charlottesville, Virginia and for ESPN Zone in Atlanta.  His artwork has been featured in over 96 publications, recently in Scholastic Art with Dale Chihuly as well as The Washington Post, Sculpture Magazine, The Union Tribune in San Diego, CA, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta, GA, Upscale Magazine, and City Papers in Baltimore, MD.  He and his art work has appeared on the NBA Inside Stuff, NBC TV, TBS’s “Between the Lines”, and “Good Day Atlanta” CBS TV.