GINGER WILLIAMS COOK
gallery premiere, new paintings
December 14, 2024 – February 8, 2025
Pull Quote
The techniques in her artwork combine washes of acrylic paint that take shape with colored pencils and pastels, serving as a visual conversation between two hemispheres – the creator and the corrector dancing through a changing process. The common thread in her work is emotional attachment to physical objects, and the power nostalgia has to unlock a memory.
Biography
G I N G E R W I L L I A M S C O O K | | | @gingerwilliamscook
[lives & works - Jackson, MS ::: b. 1981, Jackson, MS]
GINGER WILLIAMS COOK is a painter, published illustrator, and arts educator based in Jackson, MS. Her paintings have been featured in numerous exhibitions, publications, and media. Ginger’s journey into motherhood and coping through art is featured in an HBO Documentary, The Dead Mothers Club. Her painting comparing phantom limb sensation to grief was selected as the documentary's featured poster. She is an avid sketchbook artist who cultivates an intuitive drawing practice to document the mundane. Ginger uses digital illustration to develop mockups, experimenting with imagery, color palettes, and composition. The techniques in her artwork combine washes of acrylic paint that take shape with colored pencils and pastels, serving as a visual conversation between two hemispheres – the creator and the corrector dancing through a changing process. The common thread in her work is emotional attachment to physical objects, and the power nostalgia has to unlock a memory.
Artist Statement
The setting of Fidus Amor and Flora & Zephyr draws inspiration from Baroque-style landscapes with an applied field of color harkening to works by Maurice Noble and Chuck Jones – creators of the background animation design in Looney Tunes. The subjects are modeled after 1700s French and German porcelain figurines for their gestural and sculptural qualities. I love capturing the opaque, pastel glazes and further enjoy examining how antique porcelain has visible hairline fractures as a natural release of tension within the material.
The drapery within Unviable depicts the emotional tension of losing bodily autonomy as a woman facing decisions about her body and reproductive health. It is a voyeuristic invasion of privacy that hangs heavy and layered. The use of drapery as a visual device echoes the symbolism used in Neoclassicism and the uncanny characteristics implemented in Magic Realism, particularly the work of Honoré Sharrer.
CV
EDUCATION
2004 BFA Painting and Drawing, William Carey University, Gulfport, MS
EXHIBITIONS
2023 27th Annual No Dead Artists, Ferrara Showman Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2022 Art for the Park, Featured Artist, Fairview Inn
2019 Smalls Show, Caron Gallery, Featured Artist,Tupelo, MS
2019 10 Most Endangered Places, MS Heritage Trust
2019 Priced to Move, Vol. 10, Pop-up Art Gallery
2018 Bright Lights Belhaven Nights featured artist and vendor
2017 Self Portrait Exhibition, Art Lovers Soiree, Fischer Galleries
2017 Spring Open House, Featured Artist & Live demonstration, The Caron Gallery, Tupelo, MS
2017 Summer Republic, Smith + Lens Gallery, Bay St. Louis, MS
2016 Dolly Should, Smith + Lens Gallery, Bay St. Louis, MS
2016 Sneaker Madness, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
2016 The Spring Exhibition, solo show, The Cedars, Jackson, MS
2015 10 Most Endangered Places, MS Heritage Trust, Featured
2014 Pop-Up Exhibit, Mississippi Museum of Art
2013 HeARTworks, The Cedars, Jackson, MS
2013 The Girls of Summer, MAC, Jackson, MS
2013 Art Soup, group show at Hal & Mal’s, Jackson, MS
2013 Studio 54, Storytellers Ball, MS Arts Center
2013 Artists by Artists, four month group exhibit, MMA
2013 Spring Show, Lounge Interiors, Jackson, MS
2011 Group Show, M2 Gallery, Little Rock, AR
2011 I Love the 80s, Storytellers Ball, MS Arts Center
2010 Solo Exhibition, MS Arts Center, Jackson, MS
2010 Nudes & Figures, Fischer Galleries, Jackson, MS
2010 Pearl River Glass Showcase, The Cedars, Jackson, MS
2009 Figurative Work, Guthrie Contemporary, New Orleans, LA
2009 Motown Exhibit, MS Arts Center
2009 Nudes & Figures, Fischer Galleries, Jackson, MS
2008 Paris Expo, Highland Fine Art Brokers, Jackson, MS
2008 5x7, Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS
2008 Shaken, Not Stirred, Storytellers Ball, Jackson, MS
2008 The Moe Show, Guthrie Contemporary, New Orleans, LA
2008 Prospect 1, Guthrie Contemporary, New Orleans, LA
2008 Wraparounds, The Powerhouse, Oxford, MS
2008 Nudes and Figures, Fischer Galleries, Jackson, MS
2008 The Still Life, Lounge Interiors, Jackson, MS
2007 Summer Solstice, District Fine Arts, Washington DC
2007 New American Talent 22, Arthouse, Austin, TX
2007 Mississippi Artists, Brick Gallery, Clarksdale, MS
2007 Displaced, The Found Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Katrina Remembered, DUMBO Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY
2006 Katrina Remembered, DFA, Washington DC
INSTALLATIONS/ PROJECTS
2019 Curated Artwork Installation and Mural, Ferriss & Co. for Sophomore Spanish Club, Jackson, MS
2019 Lower Mississippi River Museum, Illustrator for interactive play installation, Vicksburg, MS, coordinated by Kiyomi
2018 The Artful Evolution of Hal & Mal’s, illustrator, Published by the University Press of Mississippi and statewide book tour and art exhibit
2018 Birth Control editorial Illustration for Teen Vogue Magazine
2017 Literary Map of Mississippi, illustration, permanent installation at the Mississippi Library Commission
2017 Paintings on the set of a Lifetime Original Movie, set in Gulfport, MS, through The Caron Gallery
2017 Stacy’s Stands With You benefitting StepUP Women’s Network, design team led by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Illustration featured on packaging of Stacy’s Pita Chips
CV CONT'D
AWARDS
2022 Artist Mini-Grant MAC
2020 Rapid Response Grant MAC
2017 Bronze Lion in Design|Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity|Package Design|Stacy’s Pita Chips + Goodby Silverstein & Partners, 10 Illustrators selected in the US
2016 Artist Mini-Grant MAC
2013 3rd Place in Studio 54 exhibit at MS Arts Center
2012 Outstanding Art Educator of the Year, Museum Division, MAEA
2009 2nd Place in Motown Exhibit, MS Arts Center
2009-13 Best of Jackson, Best Visual Artist division
2006 Creative Artist Grant, Greater Jackson Arts Council, Jackson, MS
ARTIST LECTURES/FEATURES
2022 “MAC Artist Takeover” on Instagram
2022 “Mississippi State Arts Conference” Presenter
2022 Keynote Speaker and Creativity Workshop for “MS Whole Schools Leadership Retreat” at The MAX, Meridian, MS
2021 “How Much Should I Charge”, Virtual Panelist, MAC
2020 “We Feel You”, Webinar focused on mental health and creativity, hosted by Thimblepress
2018 “Mississippi Book Festival” Panelist & Book Signing
2014 “The Dead Mothers Club”, HBO Documentary, featured interviews and poster artwork, Smoke & Apple Films
PRESS
2018 NPR’s Book Concierge featuring The Artful Evolution of Hal & Mal’s
2017 Illustration featured on AJ+ social media accounts for International Women’s Day
2014 Time Magazine article featuring The Dead Mothers Club HBO Documentary Premiere
2014 Live interview by Katie Couric on the talk show, Katie, about The Dead Mothers Club Documentary
2013 Mississippi Roads, Landrum’s Homestead episode, featured interview, MPBTV broadcast
2013 Natural Talent Issue, The Jackson Free Press
2012 Power Couples issue, BOOM Jackson Magazine
2012 Three Under 35, Delta Magazine
2009 The Art Issue, Portico Magazine
2004 Grounded Ginger, cover story, The Jackson Free Press
