Sanctuary: Artworks by Gary Cooks and LaShonda Cooks

Justus Sundermann Gallery
January 21 through March 11

Exhibit Opening and Reception with the Artists
Friday, January 21 at 5:30 pm

Event flyer here.

Sanctuary is an intimate father-daughter art exhibit that features unseen pieces by retired art teacher turned artist Gary Cooks, with new paintings by emerging artist LaShonda Cooks. The exhibition explores the sacred space that art creates for both father and daughter, in seasons of change.

Gary Cooks began his mandala-inspired series during his final semester of teaching. For almost 30 years, he had put his creativity on hold so he could inspire his students to be creative. Retirement gave him time to focus on his own work and use another gift that God had given him: the ability to create art. The mandala drawings provided a sense of calmness and created a sanctuary for his mind during this transitional period. He chose colors, patterns and shapes that made him feel happy and free. He believes art should be about feeling good.

The painting series by LaShonda Cooks explores the sanctuary created in revisiting memories from the past and how they evolve and change with time. She captures her defining moments from childhood to the present and reviews the ever-shifting roles of church, family and friends in her evolving views of beauty and womanhood.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Gary Cooks was born and raised in Dallas and earned his BFA degree from the University of North Texas. He and his lovely wife Carmen have been married for more than thirty years and have two beautiful daughters, LaShonda and Candace. Gary is a retired art educator. Over his 30-year teaching career, he received many honors and awards, including Teacher of the Year at John Henry Brown Middle School (renamed Billy Earl Dade) and semifinalist for Dallas Independent School District’s Teacher of the Year. He used different media, ranging from painting, drawing, printmaking, weaving and ceramics to motivate his students to be creative, encouraging students with before and after school art clubs, the Dallas ISD Youth Art Month Exhibit, the DART Poster contest, the Dallas Auto Show’s Car of the Future drawing contest, the Cotton Bowl drawing contest, the Kwanzaa Mask-Making Contest, and the Channel 5 Bus Stop Weather Contest. Gary is excited about this new chapter of creating and showcasing his own artwork.

LaShonda Cooks is a Dallas-based artist and writer who loves exploring cultural norms, identity and beauty through words and images. She received her BS from Babson College in 2010. While there, LaShonda, the daughter of an art teacher, balanced her business education with a lifelong interest in the arts, by working in the college’s ceramic studio and exploring color in glaze and underglaze tiles. Those color studies birthed her signature pointillist painting style that features short fluid strokes and multiple layers of colors. Portraiture is her specialty. She regularly captures the features and essence of clients for commission pieces of all sizes and depicts her favorite icons and influencers on canvas as well. Her work has been featured in the Hollister Gallery at Babson College, Babson Magazine, Beacon Gallery, Boston City Hall, the Martin Luther King DART Bus Stop, Forest Theater, 500X Gallery, MUCE Miami Campus, ArtCon, Conception Dallas Art Show, ArtLoveMagic, UrbanChatter Art Show, Moody Performance Hall, Latino Cultural Center, Illamar Galeria and the African American Museum of Dallas. More about LaShonda and her work can be found at www.shondasart.com.