Self-Referential 

Patricia L. Cooke

Self-Referential is a material and process-based body of work. Beginning with a maximalist fiber assemblage sculpture; created from scrap wood, steel wire, thrifted clothing, and industrially produced products typically found in craft stores such as sequins and beads. The form of the assemblage sculpture is abstract, loosely based on patterns in nature – an intuitive response to material. The fiber assemblage sculpture informs an edition of ten laser-cut paper collages, designed in Adobe Illustrator and layered variations of cardstock. Using a variety of cardstock colors and styles, playing with glitter paper, flat paper, and metallic paper; an ongoing experiment to find the perfect combination. The result is multiple iterations of the same composition, all in conversation with the original sculpture. 

Patricia L. Cooke is a mixed-media fibers artist, born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. Cooke currently lives and works in Miami, Florida. Cooke earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina (2011), and her Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida (2018). Cooke currently holds the position of Lecturer of Sculpture at the University of Miami.

Notable exhibitions include 2025 Home v. 1, Decatur Arts Alliance, Decatur, Georgia (2025, first place winner); INDEX 25: Miami/Santo Domingo Exchange, Edge Zones Gallery and Quinta Dominica (2025); No Vacancy 2024 (2024), the Sherry Frontenac Oceanfront Hotel, Pathways 2024: the Carlos Malamud Prize (finalist, 2024), Rollins Museum of Art and the University of Central Florida Galleries, Orlando, Florida; southXeast (2023), Schmidt Center Gallery at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Cooke was nominated for the Joan Mitchell Fellowship (2023, 2024). Cooke is the recipient of the Miami-Dade Artist Access Grant (2023), the Miami-Dade Individual Artist Grant (2023, 2024, 2025), and the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences Summer Research Award (2023).