About
Melissa Cooke is a young, up-and-coming player on the international art scene. Her powdered graphite on paper works explore themes of beauty, fantasy, violence, and identity, with the artist casting herself as subject in a myriad of thematic scenarios. Her work confronts the viewer, both with scale and stirring reflections of relationships, sexuality and gender. Her drawings are attracting attention from major art galleries, museums and collectors in Chicago, LA and NYC. Cooke is represented by Koplin Del Rio in Los Angeles, CA and Jenkins Johnson Gallery in New York, NY.
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THE PROCESS
My drawings are made by dusting thin layers of graphite onto paper with a dry brush. The softness of the graphite provides a smooth surface that can be augmented with details by erasing. No pencils are used in the work, allowing the surface to glow without the shine of heavy pencil marks. Illusion dissolves into brush work and the honesty of the material.
The scale of the drawings demands a physical interaction with the work. I traverse a path, back and forth, first to work intimately with the surface and then to see the piece from a distance. This dance with my drawing has become a ritual, and ultimately, a release.
Melissa Cooke
