“My work is rooted in the body, and I look to materials to speak of the body for the body, to hold the body. I see materials as a body, each with physical characteristics and historical aesthetics that reveal a psychology, a power, and a vulnerability…
I am committed to challenging and confronting the politics of identity, using art and design as an instrument of power and potential to provoke and instigate change, equality, and the celebration of difference.”
Cheryl Pope is a visual artist focused in sculpture, installation, and performance. Her work questions and responds to issues of identity as it relates to the individual and the community, specifically in regards to race, gender, class, history, power and place. Her practice emerges from the act and politics of listening.
Pope received her BFA and MD from the School of the Art Institute Chicago, where she is now a full-time Professor in the Fashion Department. She is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago, and Galleria Bianconi in Milan. Pope studied under the artist Nick Cave for 12 years, was a teaching artist at the Museum of Contemporary Art for 7 years, and worked in multiple community based organizations throughout Chicago since 2003. After winning the Chicago Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament in 2014, Pope continues to train and teach boxing to youth in communities and adults at SOHO House Chicago.
Website
http://www.cherylpope.net/
