Jean Cooke: Ungardening

Fascinating exhibition at the Garden Museum looking at the life and work of Jean Cooke.

I’d been drawn to the show by a picture on an email but then realised I’d come across Cooke’s work before in a show at the Barbican. She’d married another artist who was abusive to her, restricting the hours she could work and sometimes not letting her leave the house. She often showed herself in self-portraits with a black eye.

Her work was delightful despite being limited in its range by her husband. I loved the full, verdant scenes of a neglected garden and the area around one of her homes in East Sussex but she also did lovely, paired back minimal works.

I think I was particularly drawn to her as she lived between Blackheath and East Sussex, two places I spend a lot of time in myself.

Closed 10 September 2023


Review

Telegraph


 

 

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