Born: 2000, United Kingdom
Based in: London
Website: montanacooke.com
Instagram: @montycooke
Biography
Montana Cooke is a painter and fashion stylist living in London. She studied Fine Art at Falmouth University after initially enrolling in Interior Design. Her work is shaped by personal reflection, emotional intensity, and an intuitive approach to materials. Raised just outside London, she has also lived in Perth and Barcelona, experiences that continue to influence her perspective and palette. She currently paints from home, creating small-scale works that prioritize feeling over perfection.
Artist Profile
Cooke’s practice is expressive, layered, and emotionally driven. Working across acrylic, pastel, charcoal, pen, and oil bar, she builds compositions through repetition, distortion, and visible edits. Her figures are often awkward, overlapping, or fragmented—used as mirrors to reflect internal states. Influenced by artists like Jordy Kerwick, Magnus Reid, and Ed Burkes, she embraces process over polish, leaning into imperfection and working freely. She sees painting as a personal outlet for self-expression, not something to explain but to feel through.
Links & Press & Selected Exhibitions
Visionary Projects x Cohart, New York City (2025)
Galleria Objects Group Exhibition, London (2025)
The Brick Lane Gallery, London (2022, 2023)
No.20 Arts, London (2022)
The London Lighthouse Gallery (2022)
Falmouth University Graduate Show (2022)
VAA Longlisted Award (2023)
Circle Arts Miami Finalist Award (2023)
Notable Works
Work shown at the Visionary Projects x Cohart exhibition in New York in 2025 marked a personal milestone for the artist. It was her first time exhibiting internationally and led to the sale of her work to a collector based in the US.
In Their Own Words
“I’ve learned that I don’t need to be constantly producing work to be an artist. Taking breaks, doing something else, and then returning to painting has become part of my process. I’ve learned that space is necessary for me to make my best work.”
“People often say they see sadness in my paintings. I think that’s because I make a lot of them during moments of PMS, where I’m overthinking everything. But those are also the times when I paint the most honestly.”
“I don’t usually begin with a concept. I let my emotions lead, and only after I’ve finished do I start to understand what it was about.”
