Middle Gate

Cox's later work is characterised by exhaustive reflections on life and work, expressed in paintings and in his written journal notes, as well.  These are pieces where aspects of his inner life, emotional state and commitment are mutually interwoven. And given his biography, this is not difficult to understand, for a the time Cox suffered from an exhausting manic-depressive breakdown, marked by extreme emotional surges seesawing between periods of hyperactive excitability and deep mental depression. In 1979, Cox endeavors to set down his memories of his father on paper, and this results in the manuscript Nagedachtenis aan Hendricus Maria Cox (In Commemoration of Hendricus Maria Cox). It comes over as an intimate and tranquil dialogue between father and son. Following on from the example of this melancholic look back, in his final years of life Cox returns to memories from childhood, translating these in a number of paintings. In Herinneringen aan mijn kinderjaren (Memories of my Childhood), these early recollections reverberate alongside later vivid impressions of the Arizona deserts.