At first I was overwhelmed by the sheer number and diversity of the plants en masse, by their shapes and colour and variety, forming a complex whole. Later, however, I was struck by the singular, isolated forms of individual plants.

As a result of these initial impressions it was natural for my paintings to develop along two lines. In some the images crowd the canvases in a chaotic but painterly way, shapes built up upon themselves by layer upon layer of paint. In others the plants present themselves as strong, very simple, isolated images; for example the shape of an individual banana leaf.

The predominance of muted colours in the paintings, such as green washes, greys and browns, reinforced by a black outlining of the shapes of leaves, is offset by bursts of strong colour, such as the yellow of a lemon or the red of the spider lily, which surprise and delight the visitor to Eden.

I enjoy making the complicated simple and in my work I believe that, sometimes, it takes just the one line of a structure, cutting into a space, to bring reality and the imagination together.

JESSICA COOPER 1967

STUDIED
1985-86 Falmouth School of Art, Cornwall : Foundation Course Diploma.
1986-89 Goldsmith’s College, London : B. A. Honours Degree Fine Art / Textiles.

SELECTED EDUCATION WORK
1993
Free-lance Artist : Tate St. Ives, Cornwall : Continuing.
Free-lance Artist : Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall : Continuing.

1997 (October)
Education Co-ordinator : St. Ives International (SII) and Newlyn Art Gallery.

1998
Design : Gallery Activity Packs : Education Programme : Tate St. Ives.

1999
Design : Gallery Activity Packs : Education Programme : Newlyn Art Gallery.
Tutor : Residential Course : Representational to the Abstract : Dartington Hall, Devon.

2001-02
Tutor : Course : Figurative to Abstract : Part 1 and 2 : Newlyn Art Gallery.

SELECTED FEATURES
1990. 1997. 1998
Interviews : Radio Cornwall.

1994. 1996. 1997
Interviews : HTV / ITV / BBC Regional.

1995
Member : Newlyn Society of Artists (NSA) : Continuing.

1996
Associate Member : Penwith Society of Artists : Continuing.

1998
Design : Poster : South West Arts (SWA) : National Galleries Week.
Design : Tate Mug : Tate St. Ives : Limited Edition : Gallery Shop (1998-2000).
Design : Book Cover : Exiles : Jacinta Bell : Parthian.

SELECTED FEATURES

1999
Elected Committee Member : NSA : Continuing.
Exhibition Co-ordinator : Living On The Line : The Count House, Botallack, Cornwall.
Co-ordinator : Publication : Living On The Line : Independent Publication.

2001
Gallery Talk : Recent Paintings : Jessica Cooper : Newlyn Art Gallery.

2002
Profile : BBC : Internet : www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall
Design : Re-run : Tate Mug : Tate St. Ives : Limited Edition : Gallery Shop.

PUBLICATIONS

1993 22 Painters Who Happen To Be Women : Marion Whybrow.
1996 Drawings Towards The End Of A Century : NSA.
1999 Living On The Line : Independent Publication.
2001 Behind The Canvas : Sarah Brittain / Simon Cook : Truran.
2002 ARTNSA : NSA.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1989
21 Degrees : The Slaughterhouse, London, SE 14.
Solo : Bread Street Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall.

1990
Open House : Newlyn Art Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall.

1993
Cornish Drawings : Gallery Shop : Newlyn Art Gallery.
8 Young Artists : Rainyday Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall.
22 Painters Who Happen To Be Women : Porthmeor Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall.

1994. 1996. 1997. 1999
Freelance Exhibition : Tate St. Ives, St. Ives, Cornwall.

1995
Solo : The Jamieson Library, Newmill, Cornwall.
Solo Feature : Truro School, Truro, Cornwall.

1996
Drawings Towards The End Of A Century : Newlyn Art Gallery.
Solo : Great Atlantic Mapworks, St. Just, Cornwall.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1996-99
Associate Members : Penwith Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall.

1996-2000
3 Person : Rainyday Gallery.

1997
Boxes : Newlyn Art Gallery.
The Art Colony At St. Just : White Lane Gallery, Plymouth, Devon.

1998
Off The Wall : Newlyn Art Gallery.
Solo : Great Atlantic Mapworks.
50 Years Of Art In St. Just : Great Atlantic Mapworks.

1998. 2000-02
Critics Choice : Newlyn Art Gallery.

1999
The Light Show : Newlyn Art Gallery.
The Dividing Line : Newlyn Art Gallery.
3 Person : Great Atlantic Mapworks.
7 Artists From Penwith : The School House, Morvah, Cornwall.
Living On The Line : The Count House, Botallack, Cornwall.

1999-00
The British Show : Lemon Street Gallery, Truro, Cornwall.

1999-02
Solo Feature : Beyond The Sea, Padstow, Cornwall.

1999. 2002
The Cornish Show : City Gallery, London, EC2R 7DN.

2000
The Other Hand : Newlyn Art Gallery.
A Valentines Collection : Great Atlantic Mapworks.
3 Person : Lemon Street Gallery.
Paintings From Cornwall : Stour Gallery, Warwickshire, CV36 4AJ.

2000-02
CHASE : Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2000-02
Annual Exhibition : City Gallery. London, SW20 8AG.
Group Show : Art For Interiors, London, SW20 8AG.

2001
From The Heart : Newlyn Art Gallery.
Solo : Newlyn Art Gallery.
3 Person : City Gallery.
Women Artists : Stour Gallery.
3 Person : Badcock’s Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall.
Behind The Canvas : Touring Exhibition.

2001-02
Annual Exhibition : Thompson’s Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5AN.
Art : Business Design Centre, London, N1 OQH.

2002
Newlyn Art Gallery Series : Gallery Shop, Newlyn Art Gallery.
2 Person : Stour Gallery.
British Contemporary Art : Fairfax Gallery, Kent, TN2 5TD.

COLLECTIONS

The Jamieson Library, Newmill, Cornwall.
Slaughter and May, London, EC2.

SELECTED GALLERIES EXHIBITING WORK

New Millennium Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall.
Penhaven Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall.
Newlyn Art Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall.
Badcock’s Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall.
Beyond The Sea, Padstow, Cornwall.
Stour Gallery, Warwickshire, CV36 4AJ.
Fairfax Gallery, Kent, TN2 5TD.
Thompson’s, Suffolk, IP15 5AN.
City Gallery, London, EC2R 7DN.