Jim Cooper (ceramicist)
Jim Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 (age 67–68) Westport, New Zealand |
| Education | Otago Polytechnic |
| Known for | Ceramic art installations |
| Notable work |
|
| Awards |
|
Jim Cooper (born 1956) is a New Zealand ceramic artist.
Life[edit]
Cooper was born in Westport on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island in 1956, and attended Buller High School.[1]
He studied ceramics at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art in 1984 and 1989, but did not "get a ticket";[2] he returned and completed a Masters of Fine Arts there in 1999.[1][3] Cooper studied under Neil Grant while at Otago Polytechnic and acknowledges him as a mentor.[1]
Artistic career[edit]
After graduating, he taught for some time at Otago Polytechnic.[4]
Cooper has worked in ceramics since the early 1980s; his earliest works in 1982 were vessels.[2] He then began creating heads and torsos of free-standing figures and relief sculptures.[1] His works tend to consist of installations of numerous figures, sometimes hundredsa
One of his major works is Sgt P, a ceramic installation loosely inspired by the album art of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles.[5] The installation, made up of more than 100 ceramic figures, cardboard cut-outs and drawings, was shown at the Dowse Art Museum in 2007 and then toured to Tauranga, Rotorua and Auckland.[5]
In 2010, Cooper was one of three ceramic artists to take up residency at the Yingge Ceramics Museum to produce work for the 2010 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale.[6] His installation at the Biennale consisted of more than 1,000 pieces.[7] In 2013, he held a residency in Hualien, Eastern Taiwan, as ground breaker with the Taiwan Land Development Corporation.[7]
Recognition[edit]
Cooper won the McSkimming Award in 1984. In 1996 he was a finalist in the New Ceramics and Glass Awards.[2] He won first place in the Norsewear Art Awards in 2006 for his work Snowy from Cavy.[5] He was named joint winner of the Portage Ceramic Awards in 2009 and was awarded the Premier Award in 2012 for his 30-piece installation Millbrook Holiday (the League for Spiritual Discovery).[3][8] He won merit awards in 2016 and 2018.[4]
Solo Shows[edit]
- Sgt P. 2007: Dunedin Public Art Gallery.[9]
- Peppermints and Incense. October 2008–February 2009: Dunedin Public Art Gallery.[5][9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Schamroth, Helen (1998). 100 New Zealand Craft Artists. Auckland: Godwit Press. ISBN 978-1869620363.
- ^ a b c Keene, Howard (17 September 1997). "Victims of Life". The Press. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Top clay artist on campus" (5 November 2009). The Bay Chronicle. Fairfax Media. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ a b Fox, Rebecca (27 February 2020). "Cooper embraces change in direction". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d Elliott, Moyra (Summer 2008). "Record covers I have known". Art News. 28 (4): 50–53. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ News, Taiwan (9 July 2010). "Art works in constant conversation with their viewers | Taiwan News | 2010-07-09 00:00:00". Taiwan News. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ a b Cooper, Jim (April 2013). "What makes me do it?". Journal of Australian Ceramics. 52 (1): 40–43.
- ^ Benson, Nigel (27 October 2012). "Premier award to Dunedin ceramist". Otago Daily Times. Allied Press Limited. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ a b Online, Online (6 October 2008). "Ceramics with a twist". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
