BENJAMIN COOK "Optics" New Paintings & Works on Paper

Zg Gallery is pleased to present Benjamin Cook's second solo exhibition, "Optics" which will include new paintings and works on paper.  Cook recently received his M.F.A at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and his B.F.A. from the University of Louisville. The exhibit opens Friday, November 2nd, from 5:00-8:00 pm and runs through December 29, 2018.

Benjamin Cook Artist Statement:
The title "Optics" is a reference to both the literal affects of visual perception, as well as the process in which stories and narratives are structured in a way that intentionally alters the viewer.  This series of new work uses paint as a lens to explore the means in which presentation and mediums of visual distribution affect perception.

The paintings, seen either in person on the wall or mediated through screens around the world, present the same image but with vastly different experiences.  I use illusion and paint flat graphic marks to read as clean, almost digital looking images. The bright colors and easily digestible systems play with the protocols and structures that a digital platform prefers.  At the same time, heavy paint applications, overlapping marks, tremors of the hand, and small details create another experience that can only really be attained while taking the time to view the paintings in person.  Neither experience is given more value, so the paintings are less engaged with questions of loss through medium translation, and more about meditating on what is currently in front of you