Fassbender Gallery is pleased to present new sculptures by Chicago artist Barbara Cooper. Constructed of wood and metal, these large-scale abstractions draw inspiration from organic life, most often plant based. The artist goes so far as to mimic life cycles in her construction methods. Her obsessive layering of strips of wood veneer to build up large, hollow forms mirrors the overlaying of new growth on old as found in natural building processes from shells to seed pods to cocoons. However, Barbara Cooper's flora and fauna defy taxonomic classification, choosing instead to celebrate the continuity of all life through the creation of new species.

Cooper has shown her sculpture throughout the United States including:
SOFA, Navy Pier, represented by Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL
Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
Northern Illinois University Museum, DeKalb, IL
Contemporary American Sculpture, Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, IN

Ms. Cooper has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including:
Arts Midwest/NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship
Fellowship, The Carmargo Foundation, Cassis, France
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship
Museum of Contemporary Art Purchase Award



Her public collections include:
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Yellowstone Contemporary Art Center, Billings, MT
 
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Barbara Cooper 2000 Exhibition