Matthew Cook
Ophelia
Oil & Acrylic on Aluminum
24 x 24w in
38.25h x 38.25w x 1d in (framed)
97.16h x 97.16w x 2.54d cm
MLC021
Bio:
Matthew Cook is a realist painter, born in Toledo, Ohio. Best known for his highly detailed portraits and still life paintings, he creates work that show his take on historical and traditional painting subjects and themes through a contemporary lens. Cook received his B.F.A. in Art Education (2013) and his M.F.A. in Painting (2017) from Bowling Green State University and has shown his work throughout the United States.
Statement:
I have always loved paintings that are about people; about who they are, their struggles and triumphs, and their relationships. Whether the subjects are real or fictional, their stories are always fascinating to me. Inspired by works of the Dutch Masters, French Academic painters, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, my paintings tell the stories of people with a highly detailed naturalistic approach.
My paintings are crafted using an underpainting that consists of the color complements of the painting subjects, then consecutive layers of transparent and semi-transparent glazes of color. The process is a slightly modified version to that of realist painters throughout history. In addition to their process my work also calls back to the subjects and themes used by historic realist painters to create my own interpretations of religious painting, commissioned portraiture and depictions of classic literary works.
MATTHEW COOK
b. Toledo, OH, 1987
EDUCATION
2017 MFA, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
2012 BFA, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
EXHIBITIONS
2024 Matthew Cook, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL
Anachronism, Dianne Kidd Art Gallery, Tiffin University, Tiffin, OH
2018 Wrap It UP, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
Manifest INDA 13, Cincinnati, OH
Au Natural: The Nude in the 21st Century, Clatsop Comm College Art Ctr, Astoria, OR
NOAPS Small Works Exhibition, Richland Fine Art Gallery, Nashville, TN
2016 Group of Nine, Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH
Arts X, Bowling Green State University Arts Center, Bowling Green, OH
Imago Dei, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling Green, OH
2015 Viewpoint 47, Cincinnati Art Club, Cincinnati, OH
NoWOH Art Show, Bowling Green State University Art Center, Bowling Green, OH
2014 Texas National Art Competition, Steven F. Austin University, Nacagdoches, TX
Juried Show, Findlay Art League, Findlay, OH
Overture III, Leso Gallery, Toledo, OH
2013 Overture II, Leso Gallery, Toledo, OH
NoWOH Art Show, Bowling Green State University Art Center, Bowling Green, OH
Bowling Green State University BFA Thesis Exhibition, Bowling Green, OH
2012 Juried Show, Findlay Art League, Findlay, OH
NoWOH Art Show, Bowling Green State University Art Center, Bowling Green, OH