A major retrospective of Beryl Cook's work, titled "Pride and Joy," is on view at The Box in Plymouth, UK. The exhibition showcases the self-taught artist's vibrant paintings of plus-sized, joyful women in social settings, challenging the long-held art-world snobbery that previously excluded her work from major institutions like the Tate.
Two concurrent exhibitions in Plymouth, England, are re-evaluating the work of the late British artist Beryl Cook, long dismissed by critics for her popular, humorous paintings of plump, joyful people. The Box gallery presents "Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy" (until 31 May), which places Cook within the Western art canon by tracing her influences from Peter Paul Rubens and Pieter Brueghel the Younger to Stanley Spencer and Edward Burra. The show features over 80 paintings, sculptures, textiles, and a personal archive, and is curated by Terah Walkup. A parallel exhibition at Karst gallery, "Discord and Harmony" (until 18 April), pairs Cook's legacy with contemporary artists like Olivia Sterling, Rhys Coren, and Flo Brooks, who similarly champion overlooked communities.