Mel Cook is an American visual artist based in Chicago, Illinois known for her painting and printmaking, particularly monotypes that incorporate layered imagery and collage elements. She earned her BFA from Bowling Green State University and her MFA in painting from Illinois State University. Cook has also participated in residencies, including the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture and the Hyde Park Art Center’s Center Program in Chicago.
Cook’s work often explores space, representation, and the relationships between still life and portraiture. In 2013 she produced a series of monotypes at Manneken Press in which she combined traditional printed imagery with collaged paper and fabric, questioning how objects within a composition relate to one another and to ideas of presence and absence.
Her paintings have been exhibited frequently in the Midwest and beyond, including shows in Chicago, Brooklyn, San Luis Obispo, Springfield, and Bowling Green. She was featured in New American Paintings (Midwest issue), and her work has appeared in group exhibitions and solo shows that emphasize layered imagery and playful, often humorous approaches to space and form.