JONATHAN DELAFIELD COOK

JONATHAN DELAFIELD COOK

A CLOSER LOOK

Born in London (1965) and trained as an architectural draughtsman in Japan, Jonathan Delafield Cook has today exhibited globally to significant acclaim. In England, the artist received the Darwin Scholarship at the Royal College of Art, consecrating his unwavering interest in the natural world around him. It is unlikely however that this formal education can be divorced from the early exposure Delafield Cook enjoyed, to the creative legacy that he was born into. Son and great-grandson to influential painters William (Bill) Delafield Cook and William Delafield Cook (Snr), his exceptional dexterity and unique way of seeing was potentially preordained.

Jonathan Delafield Cook is celebrated for his exquisitely rendered charcoal drawings on primed linen and paper. Depicted to-scale or larger, his diverse subjects (whether animals, plants, icebergs or minerals) find themselves preserved in marvellous detail. At first glance, we view these works with the kind of taxonomic obsession that led to long histories of specimen collection for museological research and display. We look longer and find ourselves enchanted by the steely glint of their perfect surfaces, and by every felt mark that was laid to unique and very particular ends. The perceived distance between science and art is narrowed by this encounter –orchestrated cleverly by Delafield Cook who laminates together the real and the wonderful with inimitable attention.

Jonathan Delafield Cook Poppy I, 2023 charcoal on primed linen 91 x 138 cm #34099 $27,500

Jonathan Delafield Cook Poppy II, 2023 charcoal on primed linen 91 x 138 cm #34100 $27,500

Jonathan Delafield Cook Poppy III, 2023 charcoal on primed linen 105 x 109 cm #34101 $24,500

Jonathan Delafield Cook

I, 2023 charcoal on paper 63 x 54.5 cm #34097 $10,500

Jonathan Delafield Cook Physalis II, 2023 charcoal on paper 63 x 54.5 cm #34098 $10,500

Jonathan Delafield Cook Iceberg 22, 2022 Charcoal on primed canvas 146 x 292 cm #32257

$48,500

Jonathan Delafield Cook Iceberg II, 2023 charcoal on primed linen

x 199 cm #34096 $38,500