Patricia L. Cooke is one of only six finalists chosen to have works on view in both the UCF Art Gallery and Rollins Museum of Art as part of the Pathways 2024: The Carlos Malamud Prize exhibition. The prize offers a pathway to success for emerging artists in Florida. In addition to having her works on view, as a Pathways finalist Clio receives mentorship from industry professionals.
About the Artist
Patricia L. Cooke was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. She earned her BFA in 2011 from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. In 2015, Cooke was awarded a Graduate Teaching Assistant Scholarship from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where she earned her MFA in Sculpture in 2018. Cooke currently holds the position of Lecturer in Sculpture at the University of Miami. Cooke lives and works in North Miami Beach, Florida with her loving partner Wade and three cats.
Works on View at Rollins Museum of Art through September 1
Patricia L. Cooke (American, b. 1988)
Hollow, (living room: sofa, coffee table, painting, wall sconces, clock, mirror, vanity, rug) 2023
Neoprene, polyester, boning, thread, ribbon, dimensions variable.
Patricia L. Cooke (American, b. 1988)
Meandering, 2022
Velour, beads, scrapwood, steel wire, thread, 35x24x12 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Works on View at UCF Art Gallery through August 30
Patricia L. Cooke (American, b. 1988)
Hollow, (bedroom: bed, chair, footstool, side table) 2023
Neoprene, polyester, boning, thread, ribbon, dimensions variable.
Photo by Jessica Abels
Patricia L. Cooke (American, b. 1988)
Time Casts its Spell on You, 2020
Neoprene, vintage Lace, scrap wood, steel, bottle caps, paint, thread
84 X 75 X 18 IN.
Photo by Jessica Abels
Artist Statement
As a child my home was filled with antique furniture. My favorite piece was a towering vanity dresser made from dark, hard wood with delicately carved designs and an impossibly heavy marble slab. It was the centerpiece of my bedroom, where I would sit and romanticize my future abode with similarly beautiful furniture of my own.
As I’ve grown into adulthood, the fantasy looks different than I imagined, but I have nostalgia for those feelings and objects. In my current body of work, Hollow, I have created stand-ins for the pieces I once dreamt of, building the fantasy within my practice. In making this body of work, I contemplate the concept of home, what it means, and how gendered stereotypes come into play in creating home.
The pieces are patterned and designed in Adobe Illustrator and the parts are created from laser cut neoprene fabric. The resulting objects have no armature, so they hold little inherent structure. Thus, the pieces must hang from the ceiling via pink satin ribbon, attach to the wall, or slump on the floor. This necessity engages the work with inherent elements of a space’s interior architecture, further exploring the idea of dwelling.
The actual fabrication of the work comes through meticulously machine and hand-stitching the pieces; repetitive and tedious practices associated with women’s work. The monochromatic color scheme allows the details to be the focal points within the compositions, and the pink neoprene fabric employed in this work evokes certain skin tones, inviting viewers to question how the body relates to furniture.
While the current focus of my work is installation based, the breadth of my work is tied together via investigation of feminine-gendered materials, colors, shapes, textures, processes, and imagery. These investigations appear as sculptures that hang on the wall; intimate compositions which are beautiful at first glance but err on the side of grotesque.
Amalgamations of faux flowers or vintage lace are imbedded within substrates of odd angles and obtrusive shapes. The armatures of these pieces are created through woodworking and metal manipulation, both activities viewed as masculine. The marriage of materials and processes that exist throughout the spectrum of gender leads me to question that very spectrum and why humans feel the need to gender activities and inanimate objects.
Watch Virtual Artists Talks with Pathways 2024: The Carlos Malamud Prize Finalists
Artists: Patricia L. Cooke, Tenee’ Hart, and Diego Alejandro Waisman. Recorded June 11, 2024
Artists: Samuel Aye-Gboyin, Fernando Ramos, and Clio Yang. Recorded July 16, 2024
View the Pathways 2024 Exhibition Catalog
About Pathways 2024: The Carlos Malamud Prize
This collaborative partnership between the Rollins Museum of Art and the UCF Art Gallery at the University of Central Florida celebrates and supports emerging professional artists working in Florida. Finalists’ works are exhibited in both locations and the winnier receive a $10,000 cash prize, a solo exhibition, a consulting session with a financial advisor, professional development, and participates as a juror for the following edition of the exhibition.
