Paul Cooklin is Invited to Join the Saatchi Gallery Web Space

Paul Cooklin is invited to join the Saatchi Gallery webspace. An original modern art collection featuring Giclee prints and canvases by Paul Cooklin.

(PRWEB) September 17, 2006 -- Cooklin has been invited to join the Saatchi Gallery web space - An Introduction to The Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery has always aimed to provide an innovative forum for contemporary art, presenting work by largely unseen young artists or by established international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK. The audience for exhibitions of contemporary art has increased widely during the last ten years as general awareness and interest in contemporary art has developed in Britain.

When The Saatchi Gallery first opened twenty years ago it was only those people who had a dedicated interest in contemporary art who sought out the gallery to see work by new artists. The audience, however, built steadily over the years and the gallery now receives over 600,000 visitors a year, and over 1,000 schools have organised student visits.

The Saatchi Gallery has worked with media sponsors on a number of shows including The Observer, The Sunday Times, Evening Standard, The Independent on Sunday and Time Out.

Many artists showing at The Saatchi Gallery are unknown when first exhibited, not only to the general public but also to the commercial art world. Many of these artists are subsequently offered shows by galleries and museums internationally. In this effect, the gallery also operates as a springboard for young artists to launch their careers.

"Very happy to see your work on the gallery site. I am thrilled that the standard is so high from such a variety of artists and hope it will be interesting to gallery owners, exhibition curators and collectors to see such diverse work."

All my best,
Charles Saatchi

"We at the Saatchi Gallery are pleased to showcase your talented work. Your digital art is quite stunning. We encourage all Saatchi artists to proudly show off their body of work. Once again, we're thrilled to feature you and your work on our site."

Regards,
Rebecca Kelley

East Magazine - Editorial
My initial design influences and aspirations were from a guy called Nathan Flood who lives in New York and is a digital artist. He helped create a book called “Geometry and Chaos” and was one of the featured artists in the first stock magazine I saw which inspired me to become a digital artist. His approach to art really got me ticking, the randomness and sense of belonging all rolled in to a single image - something chaotic and yet balanced and ordered. Allowing your mind to create its own picture is one of the reasons why abstract art is so appealing because it allows the viewer to explore their own creativity.

Much of my inspiration is drawn from my surroundings and earlier travels. From the gentle landscapes of our current home in Suffolk to the striking juxtaposition of technology and nature prevalent in Asia, where I lived for eight years. It is these experiences that give rise to the coexistence of colour and shape in my work. Having lived in Hong Kong, a city that never sleeps, to now living in Suffolk, the two places are almost opposites. However, I find the peace of Suffolk and the slower pace helps me to relax and allows me to be creative. I have to be in the right mood. Art is not something I can just bash out off-the-cuff, I have to plug in, be inspired, 'get in the zone' and all those other cliché’s.

Hong Kong, where I lived between 1992 and 200, has a vibe like no other I have felt; it’s electric. Even the less nice parts of town were inspirational. The speed and energy put in to the architecture of Hong Kong impressed me – the skyline changes from month to month. I was always amazed at the speed in which the Chinese can knock-up a building. They use bamboo scaffolding, which always scared the B-Jesus out of me, but I guess they know what they’re doing.

My own interior design heroes are my aunt, Tracy Kendall, a well known designer and the authority on silk screen printing. I have heard anecdotes of Madonna owning a piece of her bespoke wall paper which apparently she made Madonna change their entire room design to suit. I also know she is always being asked to have editorials written about her by Elle Décor and the other top prestigious interior design magazines, she’s even been on the Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen program on TV, which I hope is working for her and not against. I have listened to her experiences and come to my own conclusions about the way forward for me, and my style of work.

I have no idea at the time of creating a piece who will buy one of the limited editions or which space it will occupy or even if it will be seen at all. I rarely get commissions as it’s not what I do best. To be constricted to creating a piece to suit someone else's living area or gallery doesn’t work well for me, that’s the job of a designer. An artist is different to a designer: A designer normally gets a brief in which to work and must meet their clients criteria; An artist creates what he or she feels or thinks, its an expression of themselves and they cannot be told how to feel or express themselves. My best pieces have been happy accidents and therefore I cannot be given tight guidelines. Sure I'm happy to do work to a certain style perhaps or colour but nothing too specific. It would be too restrictive and would be compromising. The client would not be getting my best work.

Our current house is a 15th Century listed barn conversion. It’s got a lot of character and is quite charming, I suppose. My own taste though is more modern and high-tech. I don’t own much in the way of expensive furniture, although I have recently bought a villa in Turkey that I’ve furnished with a few pieces, mostly practical, clean-looking furniture designed to suit a rental market. My most recent purchase was a huge round copper hand-carved Turkish table-top which I’m using as art above the fireplace. It’s too good to put your coffee on. If money were no object, I would have a place built which was big enough to have different mood rooms. Perhaps a few rooms designed in the traditional English/French, Italian style while others ultra modern, clean and minimalist. I can't predict how I am going to feel from day-to-day, so why live in a house with just one mood or style?

http://www.paulcooklin.com

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