The Brooklyn Rail

100 words on Mike Cockrill
31 Grand
March 17–April 16, 2006

Mike Cockrill’s current exhibition of paintings at 31 Grand is entitled Over the Garden Wall. One part John Currin, two parts Balthus, Cockrill’s garden is a place where childhood play meets adult sexuality in an elixir equally suggestive and nostalgic. Children poised on the verge of adolescence feign poses to determine if they fit in. Puppy dogs and picnics abound. Cockrill’s painting feels effortless and his drawings embody the easy grace children naturally possess. His symbolism is perhaps best when it’s subtle: his unprepossessing “Girl before a Mirror” is as effective as his art history laden tour de force, “Naughty.”