I stumbled upon this brilliant artist about a year ago in my Color Theory class..I ended up basing my final project on his paintings and to this day I still have that project (which cost me many sleepless nights, 5am wake up calls from a dear friend, and frustrations with subtle hints of manic breakdowns) proudly displayed in my room.
Nigel Cooke was born in Manchester in 1973 and now resides and works in London. He has a PHD and a BA in Fine Art and a MA in painting. What had me taken aback with his paintings were that they were so...depressing. Depressing in color and the stories it told and the emotions he conveyed. In an interview this is what he had to say about his paintings:
"My paintings have to be a bit nasty colour-wise to have any bite at all, and I've come to accept that anxiety is the only appropriate feeling for a contemporary figure painting. But it's also because I'm more attracted to bad or desperate images - they communicate more ambivalence and doubt and conflict than very polished pictures."
As weird as it sounds, this is exactly why I love his imagery. Some people hate and try to avoid anxiety and depression, but I sadistically embrace it. My favourite movies are sad ones, my Ipod selection has a whole section devoted to gut wrenching saddies. Cheers to real life I say!
Take a look at some of his stuff:
So far his 2010 exhibition entitled "Night Crossing" has been my favourite. He calls these pieces "an existential odyssey" where "the characters set sail in a failed journey to an "Ibiza-like pleasure island," their peregrinations involving, among other episodes, a shipwreck and dealings with unknown islanders, who are alternate versions of the philosophers themselves."
Here are my favourites:
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| Favourite! |
All is work is done in oil on canvas....amazing, eh? Imagine how long something like THAT would dry!
None of the images or quotes are ours
-Marls
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