copyright 2000-2024Cynthia Y Cooper
b.1954. Cynthia Cooper is a cheerful and energetic artist who lives and works in Connecticut, USA. She has been making art pretty much forever, including throughout the time that she directed both an award-winning advertising/graphic design studio and a successful e-commerce website selling antique textiles.
She initially imagined her work as a message to viewers that life is short and that we are all in the process of dying but we should be focused on living. One curator described her "... painting of thousands of small tic marks as an expression of time and discipline required in artistic practice". She thinks of her work as joy-filled and transcendent.
Education: The Pennsylvania State University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Printmaking.
additional study: University of Hartford Art School; Mechanicsburg (Pennsylvania) Art Center.
Collections: Pennsylvania State University, Permanent Collection
The New Britain Museum of American Art, Permanent Collection
Private Collections
Solo + Small exhibitions: ArtMix invitational: Five Artists, ArtSpace Hartford, Hartford, CT. Exhibit: April 3 - 30, 2023.
A Pattern Language, Perspectives Gallery, Whitney Center, Hamden, CT, affiliated with the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT. Nan Adams, Cynthia Y. Cooper, Will Holub, Aileen Ishmael, Ellen Pankey, Jessica Smolinski and Ellen Weider. Curated by Debbie Hesse with Shaunda Holloway. Technical Curator, Steven Olsen. Exhibit: October 6- April 6, 2021. https://elycenter.org/a-pattern-language.
COMPLEMENTARY, Cynthia Cooper+ Ruth Sack, Five Points Annex Gallery, Torrington, CT.
Exhibit: Aug 11-23, 2020.
Immersion Solo Exhibit, Lacey Gallery, Art League of New Britain (ALNB), CT. Exhibit: Jan. 10-26, 2020.
Intersections: Matthew Best, Cynthia Cooper, Will Holub, Barbara Solomon & Gerald Wolfe.
Five Artist Exhibition. Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT. Jurors: Karl Goulet, Judith McElhone.
Exhibit: February 14-March 16, 2019.
ABSTRACTION: THREE POINTS of VIEW. West Hartford Art League, W Htfd, CT.
Exhibit: February 7-24, 2019. PRESS: CT Insider
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2023
A Way of Seeing Everything and Nothing, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, (ECOCA) New Haven, CT. Curated by: Susan Shutan and Howard el-Yasin of SomethingProjects.net. Exhibit: November 12, 2023 - January 14, 2024. PRESS: New Haven Independent
43rd Annual Faber Birren National Color Show, Stamford Art Association, Stamford, CT. Juror: Joseph Henry, Art History Ph.D. Candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, Florence B. Selden Fellow at the Yale University Art Gallery. Exhibit: October 26-December 15, 2023
From the Vault: Postwar to Contemporary Art, The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT. Exhibit: May 04 - October 29, 2023. NBMAA
Nor'Easter: The NBMAA 53rd Annual Juried Members Exhibition 2023, The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT. Juror: Fritz Horstman, curator, educator, artist and Education Director at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. Exhibit: September 21- October 8, 2023.
7th Annual Summer Exhibition 2023 Connections VII, Atlantic Gallery, 548 West 28th St, Suite 540, New York, NY. Exhibit: July 11 - July 29, 2023.
106th Annual Exhibition 2023, Bendheim Gallery and Greenwich Art Society, Greenwich, CT. Juror: David Max Horowitz is Assistant Curator, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC. Exhibit: May 18 - June 17, 2023. exhibit LIST \ view works
Hidden Letters: A VIRTUAL GALLERY OF SECRET ART, international online exhibit. One of 60 works chosen from over 500 submissions. hidden letters film
Spectrum 2023: Passages Juried Contemporary Art Exhibition, Carriage Barn Art Center, New Canaan, CT. Jurors: Rachael Palacios and Heather Gaudio, Heather Gaudio Fine Art, New Canaan, CT. Exhibit: April 28 - May 27, 2023. click
AWARD: Best of Show. Members Juried Exhibition 2023, The West Hartford Art League (WHAL), West Hartford, CT. Juror: Peter Seltzer, artist. Exhibit: April 6 - May 7, 2023.
San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild Spring Online Exhibition 2023, San Diego Museum of Art , San Diego, CA. Juror: Hugh M. Davies, Ph.D., Director Emeritus Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Exhibit: February 15, 2023 - April 30, 2023. One of the 110 selected works out of 712 submissions. SDMA.
Color Field: Blue, Dodomu gallery. Online exhibit: February 2 - March 23, 2023.
Five Points Arts 10th Anniversary Invitational Exhibition 2022, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT. Exhibit: December 9, 2022- January 21, 2023.
2022
Award: 2nd place. Annual National Open Juried Exhibition 2022, Connecticut Women Artists (CWA), West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT. Juror: Lisa Hayes Williams, Associate Curator, New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA), New Britain, CT. Exhibit: October 16 - November 13, 2022.
Award: Special recognition. 45th Annual Member Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Exhibit: September 10 - October 9, 2022.
Award: Third Place: abstract award, CT+6 Regional Juried Exhibit 2022, Clubhouse and Saltbox Galleries, West Hartford Art League (WHAL), West Hartford, CT. Juror: Cecilia (Keffie) Feldman, Ph.D.Chief Curator, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT. Exhibit: September 11 - October 9, 2022.
72nd A-ONE, Silvermine Gallery, New Canaan, CT. Juror: Sharon Butler, Painter, Art Writer, Founder of "Two Coats of Paint". Exhibit: September 3 - October 2, 2022.
Five Points Arts Small Works Juried Exhibition 2022, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT. Juror: Douglas Hyland, director emeritus, New Britain Museum of American Art. Exhibit: August 20 - Sept 24, 2022.
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI. Juror: Michele Poirier Mozzone.
Exhibit: August 6 - September 9, 2022.
Nor'Easter: The NBMAA 52nd Annual Juried Members Exhibition 2022, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT. Juror: Anna Swinbourne, PhD, Executive Director and CEO of Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT. Exhibit: August 11 - 28, 2022.
111th Annual Exhibition 2022, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. Jurors: Kate Henderson, artist, educator, Director of Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven, CT; Michael Rose, gallerist. Providence Art Club, RI. Exhibit: July 2 - August 20, 2022.
Spectrum Contemporary Art Exhibit 2022: Renewal, New Canaan Society for the Arts (Carriage Barn Arts Center), New Canaan, CT. Juror: James Barron of James Barron Art, art dealer and consultant.
Exhibit: April 29-May 22,2022.
121st Spring Open Juried Art Exhibition 2022, New Haven Paint + Clay (NHP+C), Sill House Gallery, Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT. Juror: Cat Balco, Artist/Professor of Drawing and Painting/Past Art Department Chair, University of Hartford Art School. Exhibit: May 8 - May 29, 2022.
105th ANNUAL OPEN, JURIED BENDHEIM EXHIBIT 2022, Greenwich Art Society, Greenwich, CT. Juror: Brinda Kumar, Associate Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. Exhibit: April 5 - May 5, 2022.
Neoteric Abstract X, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY. Exhibit: April 7th - 30th, 2022.
MIXMASTER 2022 Juried Members Exhibition, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT. Juror: Kyle Harris, Director, Peter Blum Gallery, NYC. Exhibit: Sunday, January 30 - Sunday, March 6, 2022.
Celebrating Color, Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, RI. Juror: Judy Vilmain, artist. Exhibition (virtual): January 22 - February 25, 2022.
2021
71st A-ONE 2021 at Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Juror: Richard Klein, curator, artist, writer and Exhibitions Director of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT. Exhibit: October 30 - December 30, 2021. silvermine
The 41st National Faber Birren Color Award Exhibit, Stamford Art Association. Juror: Michael Neumeister, Assistant Curator at the American Federation of Arts, New York, NY. Exhibit: September 25-October 31, 2021. Online.
Award: Dagny Hultgreen Award, Best in Show. 104th Annual Juried Exhibition, Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich, CT. Juror: Allison Rudnick, Associate Curator in the department of Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exhibit: July 6 - September 9, 2021.
to view the exhibit: greenwichartsociety
Ode To Color, 2021 Spectrum Contemporary Art Show, New Canaan Society for the Arts, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Juror: Lori Weitzner, internationally renowned textile designer.
Exhibit: April 18 - May 15, 2021.
Neoteric Abstract IX, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY. Exhibit: June 6 - 26th, 2021.
2020
Nor'Easter: 50th Annual Juried Members Exhibition 2020, New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA), New Britain, CT. Juror: Nancy Stuart, Dean, Hartford Art School, University of Hartford.
Exhibit: September 12 - October 4, 2020.
Spectrum: Visions 2020, The Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Jurors: Danielle Ogden and Kristin Peterson Edwards. Exhibit: April 4 - May 3, 2020.
2020 Five Points Center for the Visual Arts Small Works Juried Exhibition, Torrington, CT.
Juror: Power Boothe. Exhibit: February 14 - March 7, 2020.
76th Annual Connecticut Artists Juried Exhibition 2020, Slater Museum, Norwich, CT. Juror: Mark D. Mitchell, Holcombe T. Green Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, Yale University Art Gallery. Exhibit: January 19 - March, 2020.
2019
COLOR National Juried Art Show NYC 2019, BWAC, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY. Juror: Jocelyn Miller, Assistant Curator at MoMA PS1. Exhibit: September 21 - October 27, 2019.
39th Annual Faber Birren National Color Award Show, Stamford Art Association, Stamford, CT. Juror: Meredith A. Brown, Curatorial Research Associate in the Department of Modern & Contemporary Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exhibit: September 22 to October 24, 2019.
New Directions 2019: 35th Annual National Juried Contemporary Art Exhibition, Barrett Art Center/DCAA. Juror: Akili Tommasino, Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Exhibit: September 28-November 9, 2019. One of 39 works selected from 723 entries.
Connecticut Women Artists 90th ANNUAL NATIONAL OPEN JURIED EXHIBITION 2019, Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT. Juror: Ann H. Sievers, Director and Curator, Art Museum of University St. Joseph. Exhibit: June 15-Sept. 13, 2019.
118th ANNUAL JURIED ART EXHIBITION 2019, NEW HAVEN PAINT & CLAY CLUB (NHP&CC), Creative Arts Workshop, Susan B. Hilles Gallery, New Haven, CT. JUROR: Dr. Elizabeth S. Hodermarsky, Sutphin Family Associate Curator of Prints, Photographs and Drawings, Yale University Art Gallery. Exhibit: May 11 - June 1, 2019.
2019 CT+6 EXHIBIT, West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT. Juror: Bob Burns, Director, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT. Exhibit: April 28 - June 9, 2019.
2019 National Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA. Jurors: Camilo Alvarez and Steve Locke. Exhibit: May 14-June 22, 2019.
Award: Contemporary Award. The Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), 108th Annual Juried Exhibition, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic CT. Co-Jurors: Paul Baylock and Scott Bricher.
Exhibit: April 19 - June 1, 2019.
DITTO, 29th annual Spectrum Contemporary Art Show 2019, Carriage Barn Art Center, New Canaan, CT. Jurors: Blair Clarke and Sarah Tortorich, Voltz Clarke Gallery, NYC. Exhibit: April 6 - May 10, 2019.
Saturated: An Eye for Color, A National Juried Art Exhibition, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY. Juror: Michael Rooks, Weiland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, High Museum of Art. One of 43 chosen from 1,183 entries. Exhibit: April 6 - May 18, 2019.
Award: 3rd place. The 75th Annual Connecticut Artists Juried Exhibition 2019, Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT. Juror: Douglas Hyland, director emeritus, the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA), New Britain, CT. Exhibit: January 13 - March 15, 2019.
2018
Award: The Council Award. Connecticut Women Artists 89th Annual National Open Juried Exhibition 2018, Barnes-Franklin Gallery, Tunxis Community College, Farmington, CT. Juror: Dr. Nancy Stuart, Dean, Hartford Art School. Exhibit: September 1 - 28, 2018.
Three: A National Juried Exhibition, Attleboro Arts Museum, MA. Juror: Alexander Castro, writer and journalist and runner-up: inaugural Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing. Exhibit: June-July 2018.
2018 National Prize Show, presented by the Cambridge Art Association (CAA), Kathryn Schultz Gallery, Cambridge, MA. JURORS: Michelle Grabner, Crown Family Professor in Painting and Drawing, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Jessica Hong, Assistant Curator, ICA Boston. Jamillah James, Curator, ICA Los Angeles. One of 49 pieces from over 1,200 submissions. Exhibit: May 17-June 23, 2018.
Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts' 107th Annual Exhibition, Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT. Co-Jurors: Eric Aho and Robert Reynolds. Exhibit: April 20 - June 2, 2018.
Spectrum: What's Now/What's New. Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Juror: Hilary Lewis, chief curator and creative director of the Glass House, New Canaan, CT. Exhibit: April 20 - May 24, 2018.
The Slater Memorial Museum 74th Annual Connecticut Artists Juried Exhibition, Slater Memorial Museum of Norwich Free Academy, Norwich, CT. 2018 Juror: Michelle Hargrave, Deputy Director, the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT. Exhibit: January 28 - March 16, 2018.
MIXMASTER @ The MATT, Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, CT. Juror: Sara Shaoul, director, 601Artspace, New York, NY. Exhibit: February 11 - March 18, 2018.
2017
Cambridge Art Association 2017 Blue Biennial (CAS ), Cambridge, MA. Juror: Vera Ingrid Grant, director of the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art at the Hutchins Center, Harvard University. Exhibit: November 8 - December 20, 2017.
New Directions 2017, Barrett Art Center/DCAA, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, Juror: Ruth Erickson, Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Exhibit: Oct. 7 - Nov. 4, 2017.
Juried Regional Competition 2017, Library Arts Center, 58 North Main Street, Newport, NH Juror, Doris Nelson. Exhibit: August. 12 - September 29, 2017.
116th Annual Juried Art Exhibition New Haven Paint & Clay, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT. Juror: Richard Klein, Director of The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT.
Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 106th Annual Exhibition, CAFA 2017. Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT. Jurors: Emilia Dubicki and Deborah Quinn-Munson, artists.
10th Annual CT+6 Regional Exhibit, West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT.
Juror: Min Jung Kim, Director, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT.
Wide Open 8 Art exhibition, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC ), Brooklyn, NY. Juror: Cara Manes, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art, NYC.
2016
Connecticut Women Artists 86th Annual National Open Juried Show 2016, Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT. Juror: Min Jung Kim, Director, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT.
Wide Open 7, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC), Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY.Juror: Beth Saunders, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, NY. Exhibit: May 7 - June 12, 2016.
2016 Abstraction Exhibition, Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT. Curated: Power Booth + Judith McElhone.
2015
Artist Alliance at the Museum Juried Exhibition, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA.
The 65th A-ONE (Art of the Northeast) Exhibition, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT. Co-curated by Michelle Grabner, 2014 Whitney Biennial co-curator and co-founder of The Suburban and the Poor Farm & Brad Killam, co-founder The Suburban and the Poor Farm.
2014
The 113th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, 2014.The New Haven Paint & Clay Club, The John Slade Ely Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, CT. Juror: Douglas Hyland, Director, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT.
2013
prior
deCordova Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts.
The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Doshi Gallery, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Zoller Gallery, University Park, Pennsylvania
served as juror
Abstraction Exhibit 2022, Gallery 53, Meriden, CT. 2022
Westport Arts Festival 2016
CT Women Artists’ High School Awards 2017
contact
Cynthia Y Cooper, Connecticut, USA for prices, purchases, exhibition curation, commissions or any other information.
