David Cook has lived at Seagreens, perched on the edge of the Kincardineshire coast for nearly 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 wind can coat his studio window with spume and salt.
This July, Forged by the Sea sees Cook return to the sea, his great muse, time allowing him to reengage fully with the subject.
Cook is an artist who revels in experiencing the visual and physical assault of a North Sea squall, drawn to the expressionist qualities of the sea; creating paintings that relay the intensity and immediacy of his lived experience.
Watch our film below to find out more about Cook’s practice and this new body of work in Forged by the Sea.
Cook was born in 1957 in Dunfermline and attended Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee from 1979-84. He was recognised early as an exceptional talent, winning the first prize at the annual student show at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1983. He then won a travel award which took him to Paris, Amsterdam, Belgium and Cyprus.
In the 1990s he was already visiting Seagreens (his current home) and staying at a cottage at Benholm, two miles to the North also frequented by Alberto Morocco and Ian Eadie. Cook travelled regularly in these years to Turkey, the Balearics and significantly, at the invitation of the Everard Reed Gallery, to Southern Africa for three months in 1997. He was able to secure the tenancy at Seagreens shortly after his return and eventually bought it in 2004. This sense of belonging is now deeply embedded; he can see the seasons change and paint the whole calendar; the daffodils of Spring, wild flowers of Summer, the Autumn skies and bleak drama of Winter are all on show: immediate, raw and compelling.
Enjoy our short film showing you parts of the install of Forged by the Sea, as well as the finished exhibition.
