Chris Cook was born and grew up in Hong Kong. She emigrated to the UK in the early 1990s and pursued her artistic studies there. She received a 1st class Hon Degree in Fine Art from De Montfort University, Leicester, in 1998, and subsequently received her MA in Fine Arts from the Royal Academy Schools of Art in London in 2001. She also completed an MSc in Translation from Imperial College London in 2008.

Artist Statement

I have always been fascinated by colour as far back as I can remember. The endless possibilities of creating various hues and tones, even with a pared-down palette; its instability and how one colour changes its properties when juxtaposed with another; and its power to evoke memories and emotions are simply fascinating. The colours I use are specific and personal. They often come from my memories of particular objects and places I encountered during my childhood in Hong Kong, my frequent travels in southeast Asia, and more recently the changing colours and light of the nocturnal sky.

It is not always easy to pinpoint precisely what one's paintings are about; sometimes they are of a complexity than mere words can readily describe. On one level, my work can be seen as a continuing exploration of certain shapes, the perception of colours, their numerous variations, and the interaction of colour and light. On another level, one may find something contradictory in my paintings, and how they work in pairs; instability and balance, darkness and light, movement and being static, heaviness and lightness, restriction and boundlessness; as I like to work with the idea of opposites and interrelatedness.

I think all artworks are autobiographical to some extent, as they reflect some of the artist's traits, values, and beliefs. So I see my work as a reflection of my inner state at a specific time in life. The paintings I did in 2013, when I moved to live and work in Hong Kong, were very different from those I do now. The colours were brighter, the tempos busier and faster, and the shapes more irregular and fragmented, shedding light on the environment I was in and my attitude towards life. The recent works are much quieter and more contemplative, as the forms become minimal and the palette more reduced, creating a humming chord, a glow, and a sense of equilibrium.

I often start a painting with a grid, which gives me a sense of balance. Dividing the painting surface with equal space to begin with also helps me to locate where I want the shapes and colours to be. Diagonal lines are drawn to create repeated geometric shapes, particularly triangles and diamonds in various forms, to suggest instability as their weight is borne at the central bottom point. The diagonal lines would sometimes go as if outside the paintings, or part of a shape may extend right to the painting edges, to suggest their conditions are not restricted within the pictorial space. This gives a sense that the paintings may be part of something else. Whilst the uncompromising triangular shapes indicate tension and instability, subtle and muted colours suggest a slower tempo, balance and weight (sometimes even weightlessness) to create harmony.