Artist Statement:
I believe the experience of the sublime in nature is a result of a multitude of emotions, truths, and stories being unearthed and simultaneously grappled with in our consciousness. Though we still feel small and powerless in relation to the forces of nature–its vastness and unpredictability–nature also mirrors back the tremendous power we have in reshaping and impacting the environment, climate, people, cultures, and wildlife. My interactions with the landscape are both a space for reflection and a catalyst for my imagination.
This body of work aims to depict its own creation, and I strive to deliver a moment in the process where the work feels independent, unfamiliar, and beyond my preconceptions. I begin with a series of gestural, automatic marks and diagrammatic lines, which establish a spatial framework that allows for painting and drawing to allude to, describe, and construct real and imagined forms in an envelope of atmosphere and light.
I’m continually questioning where forms and ideas exist on a spectrum between realism and abstraction; this often leads to the development of motifs, such as scaffold-like constructions, fishing nets, carbon dust-clouds, and geometric lines, many of which symbolize human impact and manipulation of the environment. Additionally, the creation of realistic works informs my understanding of space, scale and color. Much as the light or weather shifts, our relationship to the landscape is not fixed. I hope these paintings generate unique experiences of an environment that is layered and dynamic–altered, excavated and reimagined.Artist Bio:
Kyle Cook lives and works in Seattle, WA. He currently teaches visual art at Lakeside School. He is married to artist, Melissa Dold. Kyle was born in Albuquerque, NM, and he received an MFA in Painting from Boston University.