Robert D. Cocke
We spend most of our lives indoors, encased in a technological bubble, cunningly devised to entertain and distract us to the point of addiction. What are we trying to avoid? Of course it is those age-old existential questions - Where did we come from? Why are we here? What happens when we die? We are a part of nature. When we connect with the natural world, we step away from information and entertainment, and we open ourselves up to the possibility of an older, deeper wisdom and the peace that comes with that wisdom.
-Robert Cocke
Robert Cocke’s intimate paintings are like looking through enchanted keyholes and finding a magical world of wondrous beauty. Elements of the natural world are arranged into unnatural formations and improbable combinations resulting in surrealistic landscapes. Currently living and working in Arizona, Cocke is awed and inspired by the mystery of nature and the enchantment of light.
Born in Salzburg, Austria in 1950, Cocke received a BFA in Painting from the University of Arizona, and an MFA from the University of Iowa. He has exhibited throughout the United States and in Europe. Public collections include: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City IA; Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA; Sprint Inc. Kansas City, MO; Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Bank One, Phoenix, AZ; University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ; University of New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM.
