Shoal II, 2013 20/100, 30/100, 50/100, 70/100, 100/100, Jonathan Delafield Cook
Charcoal on paper, 7cm x 15cm
Provenance: Olsen Irwin, Sydney.
After first training in Japan as an architectural draughtsman, Jonathan Delafield-Cook became the third generation in a family of Australian artists. Inspired by nature, the artist’s works are meticulously detailed and agonisingly precise, so precise that his drawings and paintings are often thought to be photographs. Flowers, nests, birds, feathers, cattle: each is usually presented alone and in sharp relief. His style evokes the artistic culture of East Asia, with viewers at times noting meticulous strokes akin to Zen calligraphy. Delafield Cook has exhibited extensively in London and Sydney and he was the recipient of the Darwin Scholarship when studying at the Royal College of Art in London. (1)
The usual definitions of ‘realism’ or ‘hyper-realism’ do not seem adequate to describe Delafield-Cook’s works. Nor does ‘surrealism’, although there are detectable elements to be sure. Looking at an image conjured by either of the Delafield-Cooks is akin to seeing them for the first time, with all their qualities intensified in a way that mere paint application with a fine sable brush or a stick of charcoal can’t explain. (2)