Bio

Simon Cooper (b.1992, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American visual artist currently based in New York City.

Simon graduated with a B.F.A. in Illustration and Printmaking from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2014. He is currently completing an M.F.A. in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts.

Artist Statement

My work balances the classical and modern world, the figurative and the abstract. The work is a collaboration with the past, bringing historic ideas and imagery into a contemporary lens through paintings, collage and works on paper. Blending elements from across Western art history, I draw inspiration from Medieval illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance tapestries, classical antiquity, and Flemish genre painting. I use the compositional structure within these references as a framework for abstraction. Bacchanalia, feasts and gatherings are themes I regularly revisit within my practice.

Through abstraction, I seek to find the essence and movement within these scenes such as the hand gestures of an intense conversation or the chaotic scene of a spilled glass of wine. This focus on social gatherings and human interaction comes as a response to a rising antisocial presence within the world today that is fueled by social media, ecommerce, and remote work. Inspired by artists such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Jan Steen, I recognize the importance of community and society visible in their work and I aim to promote those same values in my work today.