Galerie Flying Pig

Kevin Cooklin, gallery founder and artist:

Let’s face it.  A lot of the so-called ‚creative arts‘ scene, whether it be events or galleries or various businesses specializing in art and design, they can be, well, irritatingly pretentious as all get-out.  Right?  In my almost 30 years of being in the business as a working artist, sculptor,  I’ve experienced this a great deal.  Galerie Flying Pig was created to do a few things:  One of them is to just be a ‚real‘ place without pretension, where people feel comfortable stopping by for a chat, to discuss potential projects, to have relaxed and laughter filled events (including art openings, of course), to keep the focus on the work as opposed to ‚attitude‘ or some sort of preconceived (and prescribed) notions of what art is or means.  

Galerie Flying Pig is my actual work studio in addition to being a gallery.  It’s also a space intended to accommodate various creative practitioners.  The location was chosen for its great sense of community among the people living there –the many bars and cafes, wine retailers, small shops, and the diverse group of residents who call the area home.  

I have been drawing and painting since I was a very young child.  I grew up in a small farm village in Iowa (USA).  Originally it was my intention to become a professor in English literature, but after a few years of graduate school, I decided I needed to at least try and make a living at what I loved most.  And so, with much gratitude, here I am today, still doing what I love most.  I could not have done it, of course, without my friends and clients (many who also become friends), and let me not forget to mention it, good old-fashioned ‚luck.‘

My business specializes in fine art (both mine and the artists I represent).  This includes paintings and sculptures, typically.  As mentioned, I also do on-site work for clients, installations and finishes for commercial clients such as hotels and restaurants, painted displays, etc.  For bigger, more expansive jobs, I have a talented team of artists and artisans who continually impress me with their dedication to their work as well as their individual talents.