Jim Cole

Senior Critic - Furniture Design
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BFA, Minneapolis College of Art and
MFA, Cornell University

Jim Cole received a Master’s of Fine Arts in sculpture from Cornell University, a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Minneapolis School of Art and an Associate degree in engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He taught Sculpture at Cornell University and has been a member of the Department of Furniture Design at RISD since 1997.

Cole’s work bridges the gap between sculpture and furniture and is in the permanent collections of many prestigious museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, the American Craft Museum and the Arkansas Art Center. His work is also in many public collections, such as The General Mills Corporation, Gellert and Cutler, PC and Northern Duchess Hospital. His professional activities have included numerous solo and group exhibitions. Perhaps his most notable showing was in the Modern Metal Works exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993–94.

Cole is regularly represented at SOFA, New York and has been included in Art Basel/Miami since 2007. In 2006, he completed a commission for the University of Florida, Gainesville as a permanent installation in the courtyard of the Legal Information Center of the Law School at the University. In 2009 he was awarded a commission by the state of Vermont to construct an installation of outdoor seating and sculpture for the Vermont Archives. In the summer of 2011, he executed a commission for the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, VT. The work is a stainless steel table and seating elements permanently located in the newly created Freed/Rubenstein Memorial Garden. A dedication took place in August 2011. He has served as a juror for the Saltonstall Foundation and received grants from Artist Space, The Community Foundation in Vermont and The Elizabeth Foundation among others.

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

FD 2522-01 - FORM IN METALS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Furniture Design
Subject Furniture Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FD 2522-01

FORM IN METALS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Furniture Design
Subject Furniture Design
Period Fall 2023
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM; W | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM; W | 9:40 AM - 11:10 AM Instructor(s): Jim Cole Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 020 Enrolled / Capacity: 14 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In this junior studio students are presented with the idea of using metal to develop furniture forms. While the primary metal used to investigate form is mild steel, properties and techniques are also presented that apply to stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass and bronze. Students become proficient in TIG welding, and are introduced to arc welding, spot welding, gas welding, brazing and soldering. Basic structural properties of steel are investigated through a series of short projects designed to inform students of the appropriate forms and applications. Basic and more advanced fabrication techniques, metal surface treatments, as well as metal finishing are also topics of class demonstrations.

Prerequisite: FD-2502

Major Requirement | BFA Furniture Design

Spring 2024 Courses

FD 2522-01 - FORM IN METALS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Furniture Design
Subject Furniture Design
Period Spring 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FD 2522-01

FORM IN METALS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Furniture Design
Subject Furniture Design
Period Spring 2024
Credits 6
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: W | 9:40 AM - 11:10 AM; F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM; W | 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM Instructor(s): Jim Cole Location(s): Metcalf Building, Room 020 Enrolled / Capacity: 14 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In this junior studio students are presented with the idea of using metal to develop furniture forms. While the primary metal used to investigate form is mild steel, properties and techniques are also presented that apply to stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass and bronze. Students become proficient in TIG welding, and are introduced to arc welding, spot welding, gas welding, brazing and soldering. Basic structural properties of steel are investigated through a series of short projects designed to inform students of the appropriate forms and applications. Basic and more advanced fabrication techniques, metal surface treatments, as well as metal finishing are also topics of class demonstrations.

Prerequisite: FD-2502

Major Requirement | BFA Furniture Design

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BFA, Minneapolis College of Art and
MFA, Cornell University