RESUME
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020: Pieces of Me, Alice R. Rogers and Target Galleries, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN
2018: Faces/Phases, The Priebe Gallery, Oshkosh, WI
2018: Mom Brain, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
2016-2017: Egos, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI
2015: No Place Like Home, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2015: Recent Works on Paper, Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, New York, NY
2012-2013: Plunge, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
2012: Surfaced, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2011: Sometimes I Disappear, Brenau Gallery, Brenau University, Gainesville, GA
2011: Sometimes I Disappear, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
2011: Vacuum, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI
2011: Lost Inside You, Caestecker Gallery, Ripon College, Ripon, WI
2011: Lost Inside You, Art Lofts Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
2010: You Know Me Better Than I Know Myself, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2008: Masked, Project Lodge, Madison, WI
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
UPCOMING FEB 2023: Drawing on Narratives, Foster Gallery, University of Wisconsin-EC, Eau Claire, WI
2022: The Still Life, DeVos Art Museum, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
2021: Claiming Space: A New Century of Visionary Women, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI
2021: Many Waters: A Minnesota Biennial, Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
2020: North of the 45th, DeVos Art Museum, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
2020: The Beginning of Everything, Katherine E Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
2019: Stranger Beings, Emily Davis Gallery, The University of Akron, Akron, OH
2017: Winnowers, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2017: Foundations, The Weeks Gallery, Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, NY
2016: Momento Mori: Skulls & Bones in Art, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA
2016: Drawing, Broadly Speaking, Dean Jensen Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2016: Untitled 12, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
2016: Identity: A Visual Artifact, Koplin Del Rio ,Seattle, WA
2015-2016: American Art: It's Complicated, Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
2015-2016: Out of Madison, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI
2015: No Vacancy, Waiting Room, Minneapolis, MN
2015: Subjective Truths, Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA
2014-2015: Face to Face: Artists’ Self-Portraits from the Collection of Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr., The Baker Museum, Naples, FL
2014: Stranger Than Fiction, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY
2014: Face to Face: Wall to Wall, Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
2014: The Skull Show, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
2014: EF2, The Active Space, Brooklyn, NY
2014: Human Extension, The Lodge Gallery, New York, NY
2014: Ossuary, Herron Gallery of IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
2013-2014: Size Really Does Matter, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013-2014: Artists' Self-Portraits from the Collection of Jackye & Curtis Finch, Jr., Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
2013: Ossuary, University of Tennessee Downtown Gallery, Knoxville, TN
2013: 15th Annual Art Auction, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
2013: Spring Selections, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013: Wunderkammer, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2012: The Space Between, The National Arts Club, New York, NY
2012: Self Possessed: Examining Identity in the 21st Century, Koplin Del Rio, Los Angeles, CA
2012: Role/Play, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
2012: Voices, Warehouse Gallery, Dubuque, IA
2012: YOU: Investigating Identity, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
2011: Blurring the Lines, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
2011: Generation Next, Layton Gallery, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee, WI
2011: Face To Face: The Changing Face of Portraiture, Cannon Art Gallery, Carlsbad, CA
2010: DELINEATE, McMaster Gallery, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
2010: Wisconsin Triennial, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI
2010: To See Ourselves As Others See Us, Contemporary WI Portraits, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI
2009: On Paper, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
2009: West Coast Drawings VIII, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA
2008: In Cahoots, Overture Center for the Arts, October 2008, Madison, WI
2007-2008: Paradise Lost, a traveling Climate Change exhibit and community education program
2007: UW-Madison Master of Fine Arts Juried Show, Steinhilber Art Gallery, University of WI, Oshkosh, WI
2006: Paper Work, Shotgun House Gallery, Portland, OR
2006: Fresh Hot Press, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI
2005: Paper Politics, 5 + 5 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY and Phinney Center Gallery, Seattle, WA
2005: Public/Private, National Juried Print Portfoilo, Hughes Fine Art Center, University of North Dakota, ND
AWARDS AND HONORS
2020: Artist Initiative Grant, Minnesota State Arts Board
2011: Artist-In-Residence, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
2009: BLINK Grant Recipient, Madison Arts Commission, Madison, WI
2004: Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
COLLECTIONS
Arkansas Art Center
Minnesota Museum of American Art
Museum of Wisconsin Art
Jackye & Curtis Finch, Jr.
Minnesota Vikings U.S. Bank Stadium Art Collection
Minnesota Vikings TCO Performance Center
Lambeau Field Art Collection
Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin
PRESS
“Minneapolis Artist Creates Emotion Through Graphite”, Saint Cloud Times, October 8, 2020.
“Mom Brain by Melissa Cooke”, Fubiz, June, 2019.
“‘No Place Like Home’ by Artist Melissa Cooke”, Booooooom, September 4, 2019
Minnesota Original, TPT Twin Cities PBS, Aired April 20, 2017. http://video.tpt.org/video/3000218817/
New American Painting, No. 125, Midwest Edition, pg 52-55
Lorne, Raennah, ”Melissa Cooke Benson explores life and body changes”, C-Ville, April 11, 2018
Salas, Rafael Francisco, “Drawing Still a Powerful Medium”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 7, 2016
Moret, A., “Fred Stonehouse and Melissa Cooke at Koplin Del Rio”, art ltd. magazine, September, 2015
Zhang, Jenny, “Photorealistic Drawings Created with Thin Layers of Graphite Dust”, My Modern Met, September 14, 2015
"Graphite Drawings By Melissa Cooke", Juxtapoz, September 3, 2015
Ollman, Leah, "Haunting Portraits and Visual Poetry", Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2015
Senn, Evan, "Going 'Home' With Melissa Cooke", YAY!LA Magazine, May 29, 2015
Carlson, Jeffrey, "Drawings From (City) Life", Fine Art Connoisseur, May 28, 2015
Carlson, Jeffrey, “Drawing Out Melissa Cooke", Fine Art Connoisseur, February 5, 2015
Exhibition of Recent Graphite Drawings By Melissa Cooke on View at Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, artdaily.org, February, 2015
Frank, Priscilla, "10 Insanely Detailed Drawings With One Foot In Reality And The Other In Our Dreams", Huffington Post, Arts & Culture, September 18, 2014
Voynovskaya, Nastia, "Disorienting, Large-Scale Graphite Drawings by Melissa Cooke", Hi-Fructose, June 10, 2014
Majzoub, Maha, "Me, Myself, and My Alter Ego: The Many Faces of Melissa Cooke", Curve, Lebanon, June/July, 2013.
"New & Notable: Melissa Cooke", American Artist Drawing, Summer 2011, pg 20-22.
Brouk, Tim, "Artist Melissa Cooke Creates Provocative Pieces with Graphite", Journal and Courier, August 17, 2011.
ElevenEleven, Issue 11, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA, 2011, pg 100-101.
Empty Magazine, Issue 20, 2011, Australia, Pg 52-57.
The Ampersand, Spring 2011, Fordham University Press, Bronx, NY, Pg 26-28 and center photo spread.
Dunigan, Peggy Sue, “’Vacuum’ Triggers Emotional Response at Museum of Wisconsin Art”, Express Milwaukee, May 31, 2011.
Turner, Lonnie, “Art City Asks: Melissa Cooke”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online, May 20, 2011.
Poets/Artists, February 2011, pg 58-64.
New American Painting, No. 89, Midwest Edition, August/September 2010. pg 9, 154-157.
Schumacher, Mary Louise, “In Memoriam: Triennial artists get personal with contemporary”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 27, 2010, Cue Section, pg 1, 8.
Wisconsin Triennial Catalog, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, May, 2010.
Salas, Rafael Francisco, “REVIEW: To See Ourselves As Others See Us at the Museum of Wisconsin Art”, June 18, 2010.
Smith, Jennifer. “The Anti-Theme Show”, The Isthmus, May 27, 2010.
Zellen, Jody, “Editorial: Recommendations: Melissa Cooke at Koplin Del Rio Gallery”, Visual Art Source, March 2010.
Wolf, Karin, “Local Artists Make Impression At Armory Shows”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 21, 2010, Cue Section, pg 8 .
Feinstein, Lea, “Reviews: National ‘On Paper", ARTnews, January 2010, pg 122.
“West Coast Drawings: Drawings VIII”, feature photo, Journal of the Print World, Summer 2009, pg 9.
Lundin, Norman and Koplin Del Rio, West Coast Drawings, 2009, pg. 37.
"Make with the Art", with feature photo, The Onion, Madison, WI, May 15, 2008, pg. 29.
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2022: Adjunct Faculty, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
2014-Present: Freelance Artist, Minneapolis, MN
2013-2014: Graphic Designer, Photo Specialist, and Gallery Assistant, Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY
2012-2014: Freelance Artist, Graphic Designer and Art Handler, New York, NY
2008-2011: Student and Gallery Coordinator, University of Wisconsin Art Department, Madison, WI
2006-2008: Teaching Assistant, Instructor of Record, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
2004-2008: Instructor, Wisconsin Union and UW Continuing Education, Madison, WI
2004-2008: Art Instructor, PEOPLE Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
2006: President of Fresh Hot Press, University of Wisconsin-Madison Print Club, Madison, WI
2006: Southern Graphics Council Conference Planning and Organization Assistant, Madison, WI
2005-2007: Studio Assistant at Silver Buckle Press, Madison, WI
SELECTED VISITING ARTIST LECTURES
2015: College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, Collegeville, MN
2013: SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY
2013: The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY
2012: Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
2011: Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI
2011: University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE
2011: Brenau University, Gainesville, GA
EDUCATION
Masters of Fine Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Koplin Del Rio, Seattle, WA