Real Art from an Unreal Place

Nigel Cooke lives only part-time in what most of us call reality. The rest of the time — well, let’s just say he falls down the rabbit hole. On the other end are characters and images and experiences that Cooke paints and sculpts. Cooke even refers to the figures in...

By Jenny Block

November 10, 2011

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Nigel Cooke lives only part-time in what most of us call reality. The rest of the time — well, let’s just say he falls down the rabbit hole. On the other end are characters and images and experiences that Cooke paints and sculpts. Cooke even refers to the figures in his work as if they exist. For Cooke, they do. What he’s found there are creatures who are making art and looking for meaning in a world where, much like ours, not a whole lot makes seems logical, where the abstract makes more sense than reality. Bananas are anthropomorphized. Sculptures of bandaged heads have round, blue, clown-like noses, and long-haired, drinking, monster-truck driving characters make art. The work, featured in his eponymous exhibition at Goss Michael Foundation, 1405 Turtle Creek Blvd., is enthralling. It’s clearly the channeling of an alternative reality. See the show through February 18, and plan to spend some time at the gallery. It’s not easy to find your way back out of the rabbit hole. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Foundation hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Starts: Nov. 11. Continues through Feb. 18, 2011

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