Those Are the Rules (2024) Painting by Caroline Cook

My artistic practice explores how lived trauma and personal experience shape identity. I am fascinated by the internalization of small experiences and how that internalization contributes to the formation of self. Identity is shaped by our perception of these subtle, unseen moments; and the ways we process, reflect on, and relive them mold our perspective, leaving a profound impact on who we are and what we become. My work illustrates both the infinitesimal and the foundational and how one contributes to the other. 

For a time, I identified strictly as a genre painter, capturing candid moments of authenticity in works like my series Fleeting Honesty, which explore quick, cumulative instances that build into a larger narrative of life. During this period, I also began experimenting with abstract compositions, drawn to their design possibilities and creative processes. What initially felt like two contrasting approaches—genre realism and shape abstraction—evolved into a unified practice, allowing me to merge the narrative depth of representational art with the dynamic intrigue of abstraction.

• Nationality: UNITED STATES
• Date of birth : 2000
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary American Artists