VALLEY HOUSE GALLERY

Robert D. Cocke
Timeframe

03.08.2025 through 04.12.2025

Some years ago, I began to realize that when I am out in nature, away from the turmoil and noise of modern civilization, I feel more connected to the timeless realm of wonder and transcendence. My aim has been to create paintings that evoke this sense of our connection to nature. While I want the paintings to be pictorially convincing, what I am seeking is enchantment rather than accuracy.

Born in 1950, Robert D. Cocke earned his BFA at The University of Arizona in Tucson, followed by his MA and MFA in 1975 from The University of Iowa. After several teaching positions, he returned to Arizona in 1983 when invited to join the faculty at Arizona State University at Tempe. After more than 20 years as a Professor of Art, Cocke retired in 2005 to devote more time to painting.

Since 1974, Cocke has had many solo shows from coast-to-coast, and has participated in well over 100 group exhibitions. Cocke’s work is in a number of museum collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Crocker Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and Tucson Museum of Art, among others. Robert D. Cocke lives and works in Tucson. This is his fourth solo exhibition at Valley House Gallery.

The exhibition Robert D. Cocke: Timeframe will be on view at Valley House Gallery through April 12.

MICHAEL O’KEEFE
Recent Work: Paintings | Drawings | Sculptures

through March 29

As is characteristic of all of my work, the paintings, drawings, and sculptures in this exhibition are figurative, quietly expressive, and utilize a range of abstraction. The recent paintings allude to various archetypal themes, among them, the mythological narrative of Icarus—a narrative that symbolizes our irrepressible striving to transcend our earthly existence. In the Icarus paintings, I have portrayed this character suspended in a liminal space, free from hubris or defeat. In the latest drawings, intersecting figures reference the arboreal phenomenon of inosculation as a metaphor for the interconnectedness that necessarily grows out of the friction of human relationships. The recent sculptures consist of heads and figures constructed with colored plaster, using a new variation of this unique process. While the forms are mostly representational, the use of color is explicitly non-representational, adding a layer that is meant to be symbolically provocative.