Art Across at Saul Hay Gallery

'Art Across the Golden Age'

7^th February 2020

This event accompanied the solo exhibition 'Golden Age - Selected works by Christopher Cook'.

Cook presented two sets of paintings, all belonging to the body of work he has been producing over the last few years, inspired by the Dutch Golden Age still life - hence the exhibition title.

One group of paintings had been developed by the artist in collaboration with York Art Gallery, for their exhibition 'Making a Masterpiece', prior to the exhibition in Saul Hay Gallery. In those pieces, Cook had been responding directly to some existing examples of still life from York Art Gallery collection. In the exhibition at Saul Hay Gallery, they were juxtaposed to previous paintings, inspired by the subject but not directly linked to any existing historical artworks.

The event was introduced by a short presentation on the subject of still life in the Dutch Golden Age and its historical significance, delivered by Sara, who was then in conversation with Cook, to share and illustrate his current creative process and its relevance in the wider context of his artistic development, highlighting one of the leitmotifs of Art Across: the fertile potentials of dialogue between the past and the present.

Photos by Steven Heaton © Steven Heaton 2020