Ethan Cook
Papers

De Brock is pleased to present an exhibition of six recent paper works by New York-based artist Ethan Cook.

Engaging with material existentialism in his practice of woven canvas, Ethan Cook uses an equivalent approach to his paper making process. Using the paper as a material to be worked with instead of on, the works are made by dipping a mold into a vat of pigmented pulp which is then pulled out, pressed, and then finally dried out.

By constructing color using nothing but pigment, earth material and water, the artist showcases not only the structure of color, but also the act of manufacturing it. As the viewers go through the handmade color sheets, geometrically composed into combinations of six, they’re able to foresee hints of what has been gone throughout the process. All the idiosyncrasies and eventual missteps that inevitably come up are part of the process, and consequently also part of the works.

Furthermore, they also stand as tracks of the artist’s presence, and as evidence that the work is actually hand – and not machine – made. The act of producing color, contemporarily as producing matter, is Cook’s method to subvert abstract painting and to do something radical within the confines of art making.

The exhibition runs from July 17th through August 4th at our project space, Strandstraat 11. Open by appointment only, please e-mail info@debrockgallery.com to schedule a visit.