Emma cc Cook

Thought bubbles are like picture frames for ideas. Emma cc Cook seeks to refine both with her debut exhibition at Half Gallery. Paintings over clear gesso made on upholstery is her medium of choice. Sometimes a walnut frame will bisect her painting as a form of elevation via misbehavior (think of Roy Lichtenstein’s Perfect/Imperfect series). Rejecting a hierarchal approach to culture or conscious, Cook rescues vintage Chilly Willy pickle imagery with the same aplomb she co-opts a cropped portrait by Man Ray.

Her inlays into a pastoral landscape scene read almost as animation cells. She cites Heidi Bucher as a major influence, the imprinting of human touch upon material. Cook’s take on utility can manifest as a repurposed pitchfork or ESL visual cue cards, our favorite which reads “skirt skirt” showing one such article of clothing at knee length and another cut considerably higher. Letters appear elsewhere as coded language only the artist can read. She strives to capture the terror and tranquility of walking though the woods at night with equal measure and invites the viewer to accompany her on this journey.

Emma cc Cook (b.1989 Minneapolis, MN) graduated with a BFA in painting from University of Minnesota and studied classical realism at the Angel Academy in Florence Italy. Cook has recently exhibited with Almine Rech, Brussels; Adams & Ollman, Porland; and was included in Walker Art Center’s 20 under 20. She has attended multiple residencies including the New York School of the Arts at Vytacil and Campos de Gutierrez in Medellin, Colombia. Emma has received the Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, the Carter Prize in Painting and the Gay M. Grossman Memorial Scholarship. Cook lives and works between Austin, TX and New York.