{"id":239797,"date":"2026-01-18T15:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T15:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/239797\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T15:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T15:59:07","slug":"radical-and-joyous-beryl-cook-show-aims-to-prove-she-was-a-serious-artist-exhibitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/239797\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Radical and joyous\u2019: Beryl Cook show aims to prove she was a serious artist | Exhibitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

In her lifetime, Beryl Cook\u2019s colourful, vibrant paintings tended to be dismissed by most critics as mere kitsch or whimsy.<\/p>\n

A major retrospective of Cook\u2019s work<\/a> opening in her adopted city of Plymouth next weekend makes the case that she was a serious, significant artist who skilfully chronicled a tumultuous period of social transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is absolutely a moment for Beryl Cook,\u201d said Terah Walkup, the curator at the Box, where the finishing touches are being put to the Pride and Joy show<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s so exciting \u2013 the place is awash with colour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many staff members, Walkup was wearing an item of leopard-pattern clothing as she worked on the exhibition, a nod to a favourite Cook motif.<\/p>\n

Back Bar of the Lockyer Tavern. Plymouth\u2019s pubs and streets became vivid backdrops for Cook\u2019s work. Photograph: Courtesy of ourberylcook.com \u00a9 John Cook<\/p>\n

\u201cBeryl Cook wasn\u2019t painting caricatures,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was documenting communities and identities that were actively marginalised with affection, mastery and honesty. Her work from the 1970s to 2000s captures working-class joy, body positivity and queer culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibition comes at an apt time: 2026 is the centenary of Cook\u2019s birth and it is half a century since a Sunday Times feature launched her into the public consciousness after her first exhibition at an arts centre in Plymouth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It also coincides with the Devon city \u2013 better known for its naval history than its art \u2013 bidding to become the UK city of culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bowlers Off the Hoe. Photograph: Courtesy of ourberylcook.com \u00a9 John Cook 2025<\/p>\n

Cook, who died in 2008 aged 81, moved to Plymouth in 1968 and the city became her primary subject, its pubs, streets and lido vivid backdrops for her work.<\/p>\n

The Pride and Joy show features more than 80 paintings, alongside rarely seen sculptures, textiles, and access to Cook\u2019s personal archive of photographs, sketches and correspondence.<\/p>\n

An \u201cidentity and representation\u201d section highlights how she painted those who were \u201cothered\u201d and looked down upon whether through attitudes toward gender, class, sexuality or body shape.<\/p>\n

Walkup flagged up a little-known 1972 painting called Bar Girls, which features two women with pints of beer. \u201cIt may not seem unusual today but in those days there were still some pubs that refused to serve women if they were unaccompanied by men. Here we have two women enjoying a full pint and each other\u2019s company.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not making fun of her subjects at all \u2013 she\u2019s painting people occupying spaces unapologetically. She celebrates her subjects and we think there\u2019s something so important and radical and joyous in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a \u201cprocess and practice\u201d section, Cook\u2019s meticulous methods of working are revealed. She mined media \u2013 from local television news to newspapers \u2013 for subjects and inspiration.<\/p>\n

The \u201cinfluences and impact\u201d section highlights how Cook drew on sources ranging from \u201csaucy\u201d seaside postcards to the work of Amedeo Modigliani and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.<\/p>\n

Jemima Laing, the deputy leader of Plymouth city council, said Cook put the place on the cultural map. \u201cFor over 40 years she painted our sailors, our shoppers, our pubs, our people, always with warmth, humour and genuine affection. While critics dismissed her, the public loved her, and now it\u2019s time for long-awaited and hugely deserved critical recognition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sailors and Seagulls. Photograph: Courtesy of ourberylcook.com \u00a9 John Cook 2025<\/p>\n

Laing said larger than lifesize sculptures of some of her characters would be popping up across the city: \u201cThey\u2019re Plymouth\u2019s love letter to an artist who never stopped celebrating us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian Spalding, a writer and former museum director, said he was delighted Cook was being feted. \u201cShe\u2019s one of the glories of British painting, a modern William Hogarth and Thomas Rowlandson rolled into one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI once asked her if she\u2019d ever wanted to paint something that upset her. She said: \u2018No. If I thought it would make any difference, I might. But I don\u2019t.\u2019 It\u2019s joy that drove her to create.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In her lifetime, Beryl Cook\u2019s colourful, vibrant paintings tended to be dismissed by most critics as mere kitsch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-239797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}