Barbara Cooper

Artist Statement

We can read a fluid history of growth embedded in solid form, whether it is in a body, a tree, or geological strata, where the immense scope of a landscape and the history that is literally embedded within it spans an amount of time beyond our comprehension. But growth can also be impeded, intruded upon, deformed and compressed by conflict or lack of resources. And that is where I find my focus now–on the environmental issues facing us today. Developing forms that appear to have grown from the inside out is central to my building process. Contrasting this organic quality of expansion with the constraint that appears to have been imposed externally develops the dichotomy that feels so pervasive in both daily life and the bigger picture of how we inhabit this earth.

Seep_6, 2021, screening, paper pulp, plastic water bottles

Bio

Barbara Cooper works in sculpture, drawing, and public art. Additional projects include gardens and structures for dance and theater. Depending upon the objective of the project, she utilizes diverse media such as wood, metal, paper, glass, and found objects. Manipulating solid material in a fluid manner, forms reference movement and growth. The work is biomorphic in style and process driven, growing from the inside out. Imagery evolves from paring down forms in nature to their essentials, finding common denominators, and eliciting references that blend genres. Utilizing repurposed materials whenever possible, issues of sustainability and an ecology of wholeness are embedded in her work. A graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cleveland Institute of Art, Cooper’s work is in the collections of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin, the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, Honolulu’s Contemporary Museum, and the Illinois State Museum. She has had numerous residencies and fellowships, both in the US and internationally, and has used them as opportunities to research and engage with new environments and geographies. Expanding a vocabulary of forms referencing natural phenomena, Cooper’s work has focused more and more on environmental issues.

https://www.barbaracooperartist.com