Work
Cook's works since 1998/9 have been almost exclusively monochromatic, painted and drawn in graphite powder suspended in resin and oil, onto coated papers, aluminium sheet, or linen. The surfaces of what he terms ‘graphites’ are extremely thin, and involve much reworking but almost no layering. The images have considerable range in terms of subject matter. Formal connections to Daguerreotype, Photorealism, lithography and Surrealism have been noted in reviews
In some works, especially those arising from an Arts Council residency at Eden Project,
there is a strongly microscopic component, emphasized by the intricacy of the graphite surfaces, and sometimes linked to Baroque architecture.
Cook is represented by Mary Ryan Gallery, New York. He is also a writer, and has published a number of artist books and collections of poems, and has also contributed catalogue essays,
exhibition and book reviews.
Career
Studied:
1979-81 BA English Literature & Fine Art, Exeter University (University poetry prize).
1983-86 MA Painting, Royal College of Art.
First solo show at Camden Arts Centre in 1985. Awarded Italian Government scholarship in 1986 and moved to Italy for three years. During this time his strongly coloured, symbolic work received curatorial attention, and was included in the exhibitions Eros in Albion at the Casa Massaccio, and in da Bacon a oggi, Palazzo Vecchio Florence.
In 1991/2 he was Guest Artist to the Stadelschule
Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, and the following year was Visiting Fellow at Ruskin School, Oxford University. In 1994/5 he was Distinguished Visiting Artist to California State University, Long Beach, USA.
From 1995 to 1997 he made three extended visits to India, working mainly on texts, sand drawings and an artist's book. On returning to the UK he made the first of his monochromatic ‘graphites’, and has rarely used colour since. He attributes the change to experiences in India, the influence of the sand drawings, and the benefits of grayscale to the imagination. He has lectured extensively in the UK, the US, and the Netherlands. In 1998 he was appointed Reader in Painting at the University of Plymouth.
A graphite was selected for John Moores 2014, and another was a prizewinner at John Moores 21. In 2017 he was first prizewinner (Valeria Sykes Award) in the biennial New Light exhibition, touring four venues in the UK. In 2019 he won the Sunny Art Prize, London/Shanghai.
