Anthony Carlton Cooke

Anthony Carlton Cooke's art is characterized by an emphasis on line, shape, and multiple perspectives. His work concerns nature, the environment, the juxtaposition of beauty and unease, and psychological and physical transformation.

Storytelling forms the core of Cooke’s artistic practice. He uses symbolism and repetition alongside his original poetry and epigrams. Objects, colors and line patterns reappear throughout a piece or a series of works, suggesting the contradictory truth of change and interconnectedness. In these allegories, art and text are inseparable for meaning to emerge. Rather than having art illustrate a poem or a poem describing a work of art, Cooke places art and poetry in a symbiotic relationship.

Cooke's influences also cross disciplinary boundaries. Illustration, still life, printmaking, emblem books, illuminated manuscripts, scientific art, poetry, film and drama, even word puzzles, all contribute to the formation and evolution of his artistic practice.

RESIDENCIES

2023 - Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA, USA.

AWARDS AND GRANTS

2023 - 50th Anniversary Fellowship for Artists of Color, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025 - TAG Gallery, “Made in the USA: Comics to Counterculture,” Los Angeles, CA. USA.

2024 - Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Building, “HERALBONY Art Prize,” Tokyo, Japan.

2022 - rek Gallery, "Art of the Dead," Tucker, GA. USA.