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Mary Cooke

/mbacooke/?hl=en /YouTube marycooke.org
/mbacooke/?hl=en /YouTube marycooke.org
About the member

Mary Cooke received the Arts Council Agility Award in 2021 and is a recipient of a Culture Ireland Grant, Cork County Council commission and Bursary (Cork City Council). She is a member of National Sculpture Factory, Visual Artists, Ireland, 126 Gallery, Ormond house, Sample Studios and Franconia Sculpture Park.

Mary is a Cork-based visual artist. She has exhibited in group shows including the Mart curated by El Putnam, Hive Emerging curated by Paul Hallahan and Spare Room curated by Dr Eve Olney. Mary has exhibited solo at St. Peter’s, Stradbally Art house, Doneraile Park, Signal Art Centre, Aras Inis Gluaire, Watergate Theatre, and Camden Palace.

Mary studied BA Fine Art Sculpture at Winchester School of Art, UK and MFA at Bennington College, Vermont, USA.

At Winchester, Mary worked for Eilis O Conner and for a time was studio assistance to Prof John Gibbons. She received a scholarship to Franconia Sculpture Park in 2000. She created rite of passage a 3 tonne steel and stained glass sculpture which is an exhibit at Skokie Sculpture Park, Chicago. Mary has several Sculptures in group shows in New Orleans, SAW.  In New York City she was part of a group show at A.I.R. She exhibited at several curated the North Bennington Annual show and a curated show Boundaries at Rutland Carving Studio.

Mary’s work is included in the collections of Cork County Council, Laois County Council and in private collections in USA, England and Ireland.

Education
  • 2004 MFA Visual Arts.  Bennington College, Vermont, USA
  • 2001 BA (hons) Fine Art Sculpture.   Winchester School of Art, Hampshire, UK
Exhibitions

Solo Shows

  • 2017 St. Peter’s, Cork City
  • 2015 Stradbally Art house, Laois. 
  • 2015 Doneraile Park, Cork Public Art
  • 2013 Signal Art Centre, Bray, Wicklow. 
  • 2013 Aras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, Mayo   
  • 2012 Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny
  • 2011 To Whom it May Concern Camden Palace, Cork 
  • 2010 Threads, Outlaw Studios & Gallery, Cork. 
  • 2009 Lab life time learning, Cork City. Audio installation
  • 2008 Flight into Fantasy, Athy, Co. Kildare.  
  • 2005 SAW (Salem Art Works) Upstate New York, USA Site-specific installation 

    Group Shows

  • 2019 Spare Room, Cork City
  • 2017 Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare
  • 2017 Mill Cove Gallery, West Cork
  • 2015 HUE. Hive emerging, Waterford 
  • 2015 ForM. Bangor Castle walled garden, Co. Down
  • 2014 Trash Culture, Vision Centre, Cork
  • 2014 Mart.ie Blue Moon, Dublin
  • 2011 Art Trail in the Elysian, Cork City
  • 2011      Outlaw Studios, Cork City
  • 2011 On the threshold hold of everything, inside and out, Tactic, Cork  
  • 2011 Clyne Gallery, Temple Bar, Dublin
  • 2010 The Gallows, Art in Production, Old Ford assembly line. Cork. 
  • 2009 Outlaw Studios, Cork City.  
  • 2009 Landfill Art Project, Pennsylvania. USA.  International Group Show
  • 2009 The Vagina Monologues, Cork City and hinterland. Performance 
  • 2008 Sculpture for New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.  International Group Show
  • 2008 North Bennington Sculpture Park, Vermont. USA.  
  • 2008 Generation 6, A.I.R Gallery, Chelsea. New York City, USA.  
  • 2007 SAW (Salem Art Works), Upstate New York. USA.  
  • 2007 North Bennington Sculpture Park, Vermont, USA.  
  • 2007 Green Mountain Girls Show Art at 196 N. Main St., Salem, Upstate New York USA.  
  • 2006 SAW (Salem Art Works), Upstate New York. USA. 
  • 2006 70 Beekman Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, Upstate New York USA 
  • 2006 North Bennington Sculpture Park, Vermont. USA.  
  • 2004 North Bennington Sculpture Park, Vermont. USA.  Site-specific installation 
  • 2004 Skokie Sculpture Park, Chicago, Illinois USA   
  • 2003 ‘Boundaries’ site-specific exhibition, Rutland Carving Studio, Vermont USA
  • 2003 Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota.

Collaborations

  • 2015 Irish Composers’ Collective, Silk. A multi-media installation and performance funded by the Art Council.
Residency
  • 2021 Tyrone Guthrie Centre
  • 2020 Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat

Mary
Cooke

My first memories are my arms to the elbow in the wet clay of the field, transforming, feeling it exuding between my fingers, shaping it and then the complete surprise of it exploding in my Ma’s Rayburn. I remain curious: how things work? Feel? Dances? Within this creative space I strive to discovery myself on a deep inner level.

I am a studio based process orientated artist who is weak for materials. My practice moves freely between object, installation, drawings, couture and is characterized by tactile, time intensive handicrafts I mainly work in series. I have sharp eye for composition and sensitivity toward beauty that follows an intuitive process. 

Mary Cooke
Self
2021
Mary Cooke
Wallflowers
Mary Cooke
The Landscape of Saved Memories