Melissa Cooke specializes in graphite on paper and through her drawing she investigates the relationship between photography, performance and drawing in portraiture. Her process includes dusting thin layers of graphite onto paper with a dry brush and then augmenting the smooth surfaces by erasing in details and textures.  

Melissa Cooke's drawings are made by dusting thin layers of graphite onto paper with a dry brush. The softness of the graphite provides a smooth surface that can be augmented by erasing in details and textures. No pencils are used in the work, allowing the surface to glow without the shine of heavy pencil marks. Illusion dissolves into brush work and the honesty of the material...

Melissa Cooke received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her powdered graphite works explore themes of beauty, fantasy, violence, and identity, with the artist casting herself as subject in a myriad of thematic scenarios. Her work confronts the viewer, both with scale and stirring reflections of relationships, sexuality, and gender.