Nicole Cooper
United States
Nicole Cooper’s life-sized figurative oil paintings use energetic brushwork, vivid colors, and the human figure to explore humanity as a living, growing force. What started as exploratory paintings rooted in evolutionary biology have quickly evolved to express the artist’s growing concern for an uncertain future in a climate emergency.
Cooper’s aim is to provide an artistic space for the viewer to process the complex emotions brought on by our climate crisis, to help find the strength and hope to change. Her paintings reflect real feelings—worry, fear, connection, strength—that become vivid manifestations of the life force inside the flesh and blood body.
Nicole Cooper (American, 1983) lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri. She holds a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute (Kansas City, MO) and has completed the Yale Norfolk School of Art Summer Residency with Yale University (Norfolk, CT). Cooper's most recent solo exhibitions include "Living Resonance: Paintings by Nicole Cooper" at Angad Arts Hotel (St. Louis, MO), "Pivotal: Recent Paintings by Nicole Cooper" at Fontbonne University Fine Art Gallery (St. Louis, MO), and "Nicole Cooper: Interwoven" at the Schmidt Art Center (Belleville, IL). She has exhibited in several group exhibitions in notable venues like Duane Reed Gallery, COCA Millstone Gallery, Art St. Louis, and the Foundry Art Center and has participated in the Open Studios STL organized by the Contemporary Art Museum (St. Louis, MO).
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
