David Cole wins 2009 Rappaport Prize

Providence-based sculptor and installation artist David Cole is the 2009 winner
of the 10th anniversary Rappaport Prize, a collaborative initiative of the Phyllis and
Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation and the DeCordova Sculpture Park and
Museum. The prize, one of the largest in New England, is an annual award of
$25,000 made to a contemporary artist.

“Over the last 10 years, annual awards of the Rappaport Art Prize, have advanced
 the mission of the foundation to shine light on emerging leaders for their strong
 accomplishments and future contributions to the way we view, represent, and
recreate our world,” said Rappaport Foundation founder Jerry Rappaport. “The
recognition and support that the Rappaport Prize has given to this extraordinarily
talented group provides our family board with great satisfaction in knowing that
we have helped them on their path to discovery, dedication and insight. Dave
Cole is a worthy addition to this distinguished list

Cole has exhibited in the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Israel, Norway,
and Australia, and has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Aldrich Museum
of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Conn., and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams. He also participated in the
critically acclaimed group exhibition, Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting,
organized by the Museum of Art and Design in New York. His current project, for
the Big West Festival in Melbourne, Australia, is the creation of a knitted fabric
wrapper for a historic pedestrian bridge in Melbourne.

 “We are thrilled to award this year’s Rappaport Prize, and particularly this 10th
prize, to an artist of such high caliber, ambition, and creativity. The way Dave so
fluidly crosses boundaries of medium, style, and subject in his work puts him at
the forefront of art-making in a time of changing cultural, personal, and media landscapes,” said DeCordova Director Dennis Kois.

Founded and funded by the Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation, the
Rappaport Prize follows the Foundation’s mission of promoting leadership in public
policy, medical research, and art. Administered by the DeCordova Sculpture Park
and Museum, the Rappaport Prize fulfills DeCordova’s mission of supporting
significant artists while educating the public about developments in contemporary
American art.

“We are so pleased to have had the support of the Rappaport Foundation for this
Prize for the past decade; its longevity and vitality are a testament to the
innovation and creativity the Rappaports bring to the mission of the Foundation
and their own thinking,” Kois said. “The Foundation’s recognition that nurturing
leadership in the arts is as important to this region as leadership in the many
other areas the Foundation supports is, I think, extraordinary. The cultural life
of New England is much the richer for their visionary commitment.”

Past Rappaport Prize winners include: Jennifer Hall (interactive media), Annee
Spileos Scott (multimedia installations), Lars-Erik Fisk (sculpture), John Bisbee
(sculpture), Debra Olin (prints and printed constructions), Sarah Walker (painting),
Abelardo Morell (photography), María Magdalena Campos-Pons (multimedia),
and Ursula von Rydingsvard (sculpture).