A new collection of works by Ali Cockrean

“There are times in life, often the most important times, when words just aren’t enough and language simply fails to convey the true depth and breadth of our feelings.”

Ali Cockrean is an artist who paints from the heart. Her works are visual expressions of emotional responses to the world around her, to personal experiences and to relationships with other people.

In Ali’s first collection of new work for 2007, Beyond The Verbal, she boldly challenges two widely held misconceptions. The first, that an artist should have a verbal rationale, message or story behind each picture and second, that viewers can only be legitimate appreciators of art if they can eloquently explain why a particular piece of work appeals to them.

Ali maintains that “As an artist, my work evolves both from my subconscious and unconscious mind and can’t be explained. It expresses emotions, feelings, senses. It leaves the triviality of everyday life behind and takes you deep into the realms of the unknown. I suppose if I had wanted to express these things in words I’d have become a writer, not an artist. Viewing art is no different. All that’s really important is how a painting makes you feel. Whether you can put that feeling into words or not is irrelevant. To have the response is enough. My experience is that many people believe that they only have a valid opinion if they can vocalise their feelings and defend themselves when asked ‘why?’. In reality, true art appreciation is about opening up and reacting to a work at a very personal level. It is not what you have to say to others about the art.

My hope is that visitors to the exhibition will enjoy the freedom of looking at the work knowing that there is no right or wrong way to view it. None of the paintings in this exhibition has a title so viewers are free to interpret them in any way they wish. As an artist one of my greatest joys is the feeling of liberation that comes from painting without restrictions. If people viewing my work can feel that same sense of liberation I’ll have achieved my aim.”

Tuesday 27th - Sunday 1st April 2007

Gallery Hadley
43a Upper High Street, Thame,
Oxfordshire, OX9 2DW