GALLERY FIVE20

Russell Cook — Disarrangement of Form

I work in a variety of media.  Sometimes separately, sometimes mixed together.  My work involves an investigation of materials, their history and their use, their strengths and weaknesses, what it takes to take them apart, and how they can be assembled again.  I approach the human figure in the same way- life, and art, is an accumulation of marks. My process tends to be to work on form, and the content follows from that.  For me, the act of going to work results in the rise and fall of ideas. 

My work often uses found objects that have engaged with the outside world. Humanity and our place in existence, and our relationship to what forms and surrounds us are what interest me.  As John Baldessari says, “art is in the spaces between things”. Using the human figure is a jumping off point for me to investigate the world and our special place in it- to what degree are we a part of, or apart from, the greater whole? How do the figure and ground meet?  

I tend to approach things from a drawing perspective, experimental and intuitive, less pinned down and left a bit raw.  My work includes 2d and 3d drawing and painting, kinetic sculpture, musical composition and performance, art criticism, and collaborations in film and theater.   I have found that for the most part these are for me different expressions of the same impulse, different children of a continuing engagement.  I'm not interested in recreating the illusion of reality as much as a butting up against it- making things that exist in the world, rather than representations of it.   In engaging with the world through art, I find myself more aware of my place in it.  

About the Artist

Russell Cook is a multi-disciplinary artist from North Georgia, who combines his broad-ranging skills as a painter, a carpenter, a writer, a musician, and a sculptor.  His work includes drawing and painting, collage, sculpture, kinetic art, musical composition and performance, art criticism, and collaborations in film and theater. He and his wife write music and perform for an acclaimed Americana band, the Little Country Giants. He is currently Assistant Professor of Art at Georgia Highlands College, performing music in support of his 6th album, and living in a historic farmhouse with his wife and two children in Oakman, Georgia.

 

 

Upcoming Exhibits in our Main Gallery:
Russell Cook Disarrangement of Form	July 7th - August 21st, 2017
FESTIVAL Exhibit	September 15th - October 19th, 2017
Paula Gregg	November 3rd — December 15th, 2017