Matthew Cooper
Region: Midwest
City / State: Indianapolis , IN
My work is equal parts creation and destruction. The process begins from within, where I travel to far-reaching vulnerable places in my memories from childhood and life and examine them in three dimensions on canvas. The tedious physical act of building up my pieces with layers of collected materials, paint, and cardboard mimics the emotional work I simultaneously experience as I am creating.
Each work is a discovery in which I hope to unearth personal truths that also speak to the heart of the Black experience.
I often repurpose old works to carve away something new from them––which is evident in the layers of miscellaneous paints and materials that are ripped away to reveal more “raw” bits of canvas. I seek to shine a light on those intricacies of the Black experience I have encountered while exposing and speaking to universal human truths and struggles we all face.
