Celestia (Gemini) 3x

DESCRIPTION Mixed media on Yupo paper | 2023 Cooley’s work continues to represent a way to connect to a presence larger than ourselves through the natural world and an encouragement to protect the source. The Celestia paintings explore the infinite possibility of what we cannot see. The work was sparked in many ways by a string of evening lightning storms that happened this summer. The sun had just set, and the sky was dense, glowing with pink and violet clouds, illuminated every few minutes with orange electricity. They were fleeting skies — absolutely magnetic but over quickly. It led Cooley to think about what we experience in nature when we are connected but also what might happen when we are not observing or are unable to observe. What does the sky look like when we are asleep? What do stars look like? What is the shape underneath ice? Humans have a deep visual foundation for seeing the world and technology has introduced the depths of the sea to the cosmos, but there is st