DIANA COOPER
Hidden Tracks Sabotage the Random
September 4 - October 12, 2002
An exhibition of new works by Diana Cooper will be on view beginning Wednesday, September 4 with the opening reception on Saturday,
September 7, 2002. Hidden Tracks Sabotage the Random will be Cooper's third solo exhibition at Postmasters.
Sometimes referred to as parapaintings Diana Cooper's works cannot be easily categorized or associated with any singular medium. The
artist engages in a unique practice that combines drawing, painting, sculpture and installation. Although essentially abstract,
these works suggest a narrative of cause and effect in which apparent chaos and randomness turns orderly. Cooperıs elaborate three
dimensional constructions convey a precarious balance between fragility and permanence. She creates quasi architectural pieces and
three dimensional paintings and drawings from unorthodox materials such as foam core, felt, vinyl, post-its, pom poms, velcro,
neoprene and photographs. Incorporating her own photographs is a recent development inspired in part by the elaborate instruction
manuals that Cooper has been making since 1998 to accompany her installational works.
Among the works in the show, Speedway, 2000-2002, is Cooper's most architectural piece to date. It is a free-standing, large
octagonal structure, part racetrack part abstract architectural dwelling. Its sculpted parts and painted surfaces invite the viewer
to inhabit it mentally. Speedway explores the tension between facade and interior space collapsing conventional distinctions
between what is in and what is out, what is front and what is back.
Cooper creates visual hybrids, paradoxical, yet logical structures that defy the familiar languages of formalism and abstraction.
In her work, there is an underlying tension between the appearance of logical systems and the manner in which they are made.
The work's unabashedly handmade nature humanizes the represented structures and their interconnected parts. Cooper exposes and
explores the pathos, the humor and the wonder of the constructed systems we live in, whether they be mass produced or handmade.
Diana Cooper graduated from Hunter College in New York in 1997. In the last few years her works have been shown extensively in
Europe and the US. Most recent exhibitions include shows at Hales Gallery and Richard Salmon Gallery in London, and Galerie Evelyne
Canus in Paris. In the United States Cooper exhibited at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and Sculpture Center in New York,
Institute of Contemporary Art in Palm Peach, Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, VCU University Gallery in Richmond, Virginia,
Tang Museum at Skidmore College, New York, Rice University Art Gallery in Houston and numerous other institutions.
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Diana Cooper Hidden Tracks Sabotage the Random 2002 installation view |
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Diana Cooper My Eye Travels 2001-2002 ink, acrylic and mixed media on paper 77 x 114 x 11 inches |
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Diana Cooper My Eye Travels (detail) 2001-2002 ink, acrylic and mixed media on paper 77 x 114 x 11 inches |
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Diana Cooper Push Gently 2002 felt, foam core, neoprene, paper and photos on board 65 x 64.5 x 6 inches |
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Diana Cooper Push Gently (detail) 2002 felt, foam core, neoprene, paper and photos on board 65 x 64.5 x 6 inches |
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Diana Cooper Speedway 2000-2002 foam core and mixed media 77 x 69.5 x 14.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Speedway (detail) 2000-2002 foam core and mixed media 77 x 69.5 x 14.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Stellar Nurseries 2002 foam core, post-its, pen, paper, acetate pom poms and neoprene 26 x 32.5 x 3.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Stellar Nurseries (detail) 2002 foam core, post-its, pen, paper, acetate pom poms and neoprene 26 x 32.5 x 3.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper The Emerald City 2002 ink and acrylic on paper 26 x 32.5 x 3.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper The Emerald City (detail) 2002 ink and acrylic on paper 26 x 32.5 x 3.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Travelling the Exosphere 2000-2002 ink, acrylic, felt, foam core, and acetate on canvas 84 x 113 x 5.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Travelling the Exosphere (detail) 2000-2002 ink, acrylic, felt, foam core, and acetate on canvas 84 x 113 x 5.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Travelling the Exosphere (detail) 2000-2002 ink, acrylic, felt, foam core, and acetate on canvas 84 x 113 x 5.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Close To It 2001 ink, acrylic, foam core, and acetate on paper 50 x 38 x 8.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Close To It (detail) 2001 ink, acrylic, foam core, and acetate on paper 50 x 38 x 8.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Separate Functions 2001-2002 ink, acrylic, acetate, felt, neoprene and foam core on canvas 50 x 38 x 8.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Separate Functions (detail) 2001-2002 ink, acrylic, acetate, felt, neoprene and foam core on canvas 50 x 38 x 8.5 inches |
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Diana Cooper Hidden Tracks Sabotage the Random 2001-2002 vinyl, foam core, acetate, pom poms and paper on wall and floor 144 x 204 x 100 inches |
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Diana Cooper Hidden Tracks Sabotage the Random 2001-2002 installation view vinyl, foam core, acetate, pom poms and paper on wall and floor 144 x 204 x 100 inches |