David Cook | Forged by the Sea

DAVID COOK

Forged by the Sea

July 2023

FORGED BY THE SEA

Cook has lived at Seagreens, perched on the edge of the Kincardineshire coast for close to 20 years. The sound of waves pervade his home and studio environment, and as the high tide mark sits just meters from his property, a strong easterly can coat his studio window with spume and salt. Whilst the sea has been a constant presence in his life, his recent bodies of work have been dedicated to single subjects. Change, Ripeness and Decay featured the industrial landscape of Fife, Earth Shaker in 2021 focused on the fecundity of his wild garden. This exhibition sees Cook return to the sea, his great muse, time allowing him to reengage fully with the subject. There are 55 paintings in this exhibition which chart the sea, temperamental weather and sky at Seagreens over the course of one year. It is the winter sea which Cook is particularly inspired by. He is an artist who revels in experiencing the visual and physical assault of a North Sea squall. Joan Eardley worked at Catterline, just 11 miles north of Seagreens. Like Eardley, 60 years before, Cook feels the emotional draw of the sea, and to create paintings that relay the intensity and immediacy of his lived experience. In Forged by The Sea, Cook realises the full potential of his visual language to make paintings which describe the raging forces and indifferent beauty of mother nature, paintings at once of the moment and eternal.

TOMMY ZYW

FORGED BY THE SEA

Improvisations on the theme of the sea.

I felt like I had been neglecting painting the sea... so I decided to focus on the sea for a twelve month period.

I am fortunate that I live by the sea.

Winter seas are when its most alive. The great tempestuous sea a primal force.

DAVID COOK

1. The Sea I oil on canvas, 150.5 x 180.5 cm

2. The Sea II oil on canvas, 100.5 x 120.5 cm

3. The Sea III oil on board, 51 x 61 cm

4. The Sea IV

oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm

5. The Sea V oil on canvas, 150.5 x 150.5 cm

6. The Sea VI

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 150.5 cm

7. The Sea VII

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 150.5 cm

8. The Sea VIII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

9. The Sea IX oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

10. The Sea X oil on canvas, 40.5 x 50 cm

11. The Sea XI

oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm

12. The Sea XII

oil on canvas, 71 x 100.5 cm

13. The Sea XIII

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 130.5 cm

14. The Sea XIV

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 130.5 cm

15. The Sea XV oil on board, 51 x 61 cm

16. The Sea XVI oil on canvas, 71 x 100.5 cm

17. The Sea XVII

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 150.5 cm

18. The Sea XVIII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

19. The Sea XIX oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

20. The Sea XX oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

21. The Sea XXI oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

The Sea XXII

oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

23. The Sea XXIII oil on canvas, 40.5 x 50 cm

The Sea XXIV

oil on canvas, 100.5 x 120.5 cm

25. The Sea XXV

oil on canvas, 100.5 x 120.5 cm

26. The Sea XXVI

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 130.5 cm

27. The Sea XXVII

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 130.5 cm

The Sea XXVIII oil on board, 51 x 61 cm

29. The Sea XXIX

oil on canvas, 65.5 x 105.5 cm

30. The Sea XXX

oil on canvas, 100.5 x 150.5 cm

31. The Sea XXXI

oil on canvas, 120.5 x 180.5 cm

32. The Sea XXXII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

33. The Sea XXXIII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

34. The Sea XXXIV oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

35. The Sea XXXV oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

36. The Sea XXXVI

oil on canvas, 150.5 x 180.5 cm

37. The Sea XXXVII oil on board, 51 x 61 cm

38. The Sea XXXVIII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

39. The Sea XXXIX oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

40. The Sea XL

oil on board, 40.5 x 50 cm

41. The Sea XLI oil on board, 30 x 40 cm

42. The Sea XLII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

43. The Sea XLIII oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

44. The Sea XLIV oil on canvas, 40.5 x 50 cm

45. The Sea XLV oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

46. The Sea XLVI oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

47. The Sea XLVII oil on canvas, 71 x 100.5 cm

48. The Sea XLVIII oil on canvas, 71 x 100.5 cm

49. The Sea XLIX oil on board, 23 x 30.5 cm

50. The Sea L

oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm

DAVID MACKIE COOK

1957 Born in Dunfermline

Lives and works in Kincardineshire

Education

1973-33 Apprenticeship as bricklayer in Kirkcaldy

1979-84 Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art

Selected Exhibitions

2023 Forged by the Sea, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

2021 Earth Shaker, The Scottish Gallery

2018 Seagreens Prospect, The Fraser Gallery, St Andrews

2017 Change, Ripeness and Decay, The Scottish Gallery

2014 Savage Tranquility, The Scottish Gallery

2012 Seagreens Recollections, Fraser Gallery

2009 New Paintings, The Scottish Gallery

2007 Montrose Art Gallery and Museum

Art Extraordinary, Pittenweem

2000 David Cook and L.S. Lowry, The Weem Gallery, Pittenweem

1999 Opening Exhibition, The Weem Gallery

Queens Gallery, Aberdeen

1987 Flaxman Gallery, London

1986 Artspace, Aberdeen

1982 Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Selected Collections

Art in Healthcare, Edinburgh

City of Edinburgh Council

Dundee Art Gallery & Museums

Dunfermline District Museum

Glasgow Museums Resource Centre

Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow

Kirkcaldy Art Museum and Art Gallery

Knysna Fine Art, South Africa

Scottish Arts Council Collection

University of Dundee

University of Warwick

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition

DAVID COOK

FORGED BY THE SEA

29 June - 22 July 2023

Exhibition can be viewed online at: scottish-gallery.co.uk/forged-by-the-sea

ISBN: 978-1-912900-68-8

Designed and produced by The Scottish Gallery

Artwork photography by John McKenzie

detail on p70-71: The SeaXXXI, oil on canvas, 120.5 x 180.5 cm (cat.31)

Artist photographs by The Scottish Gallery, Seagreens, 2021-2023

Printed by PurePrint

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