Ethan Cook

Ethan Cook’s (b. 1983) canvas works, which appear as abstract color-field paintings, turn viewers’ expectations upside down, in that the basic element of painting—paint—has not been used. Instead of paint and brush, Cook weaves and arranges colorful textiles with colored thread and a loom, and then sews them into frames. The weaving process using the loom requires a great deal of time and craft. His works, which at first glance look like smooth planes, reveal the traces of handwork, for example, runs in the surface of the textile, and pulled or tangled threads. What is interesting is the artist identifies himself with appropriation artists such as Richard Prince and Sherrie Levine. These artists appropriated subject matter from existing art or actual objects, copying or collaging them to twist the meaning of the original. Cook conceives his works within the range of colors supplied by the cotton manufacturer, and decides the size of his work according to the width of the loom. Moreover, while hiding his subjectivity as an artist, he focuses on the canvas itself, which is normally the background in painting, or copies abstract color-field paintings. He thereby draws viewers’ attention not to himself but to the canvas, so that they appreciate the traces of handwork on the woven canvas and the harmony of colorful fields. By turning the canvas into a work of art, instead of a mere supportive means for the work, Ethan Cook demonstrates how the concepts of “duplication and appropriation,” which are major keywords in contemporary art, are applied to artworks.