About the Artist

DAN COOPER

Self Portrait at 19   1967

Dan Cooper  has been a practicing and exhibiting artist for over 50 years, having been inspired to paint as a teenager by an unforgettable vision of Vermont in winter. His paintings are in the collections of Fortune 500 companies and private collections in the US, Canada, and France. Dan's work has included both representational landscapes and geometric abstraction, growing from his interest in mathematics. His work, whether representational or abstract, is built on an underlying abstract structure and a concern for asymmetrical balance.

"Cooper has, more than anything, a sightful and insightful approach to the rendering of light.  He manages to imbue each mountain top, glassy lake or tree silhouette with  a subtle  drama, often through effective use of cool and warm complements and a sure and gentle brush. His treatment rings true and that is what make these paintings sing."                                  Insightful Light at the Nelson Museum by Anne DeGrace  July 10, 1996  

Trio (1998)

"When one first sees the paintings of Dan Cooper, one's attention is immediately captured by his meticulous, pristine and masterful craftsmanship. But one does not stop there.These paintings, above all, communicate a deep love of the places chosen by the artist."   The Spirit of the Land   Art Pictorial Magazine, April 1997, Tokyo, Japan 

 Pasturythmics  (1998)

In 1979, he co-authored, with his wife Suzanne, a popular spiritual book entitled 'Being Yourself: 24 Ways to See the Light' which included a series of spiritual epigrams with his original series of contemplative geometric images.

Dan has taught and lectured at St. Mary's College, Mills College and San Francisco Art Institute, written articles on Visual Literacy, and his landscape paintings were featured in magazines such as Art Pictorial (Tokyo) and Tableau (Brussels)

Read Art Perspectives - Newspaper columns by  Dan Cooper on art, perception and the role of art in our lives.

Pioneer in Computer Art 1980 - 86 In the early days of the personal computer (1980 to 1986) Cooper was writing original programs on an Apple II and using silkscreen printing to bring a new type of generative imagery to traditional Fine Art media. His work was featured in BYTE magazine, PC World and New Realities.(More)

"In an outstanding two-dimensional exhibit of computer art at the creative arts center gallery in Sunnyvale. Soft, low-key serigraphs of Daniel Cooper. Cooper’s designs were created from sine-wave patterns visualized by computer programming and then silkscreened onto fine rag paper His lovely, complicated Sine-Scapes are visually appealing and sensitively rendered."   Addressing Computers and Art  ARTWEEK. Salli Wylie-Robertson, Feb. 1984

Writing algorithms on Apple II 1982   Studying image before colors    Finished Silkscreen Print

From 1986 to today, Cooper has painted representational landscapes of California, France and Canada.  Observation of the natural world has been a central focus of his work, exploring light, space and the underlying abstract structure of the landscape.

"Abstraction is the bones of the composition, Realism is the flesh."

His recent abstracts, the Equilibrium Series, explore in pure abstract form a concern underlying much of his work: color relationships, shape interactions, movement and asymmetrical balance.

                                  Cooper (1971)                             Equilibrium Series (2026)

Dan attended the Lawrenceville School, where he excelled in Art and Mathematics (1963-66) and Harvard College (1966-1970), majoring in Fine Arts. He took classes at the New York Art Students' League and Boston Museum school.  

In 2001 Cooper created “Painting of the Week,” a free email publication sent to subscribers in the US and around the world. View Collection

He lives in Northern California and dotes on his cats, Tiger and Lily.