Laura Cooper is acutely interested in and inspired by forms that occur in the natural world. Recurring throughout her work are drawn, sculpted, painted, crocheted and sewn articulations that emulate and elaborate the natural structures of found organic forms – mutable growth patterns; neural pathways; the muscular tactility of dirt, stone and branches; delicate webs and filigree; the pulse and glide of the ocean; earthly apparitions; and exquisite formations sculpted by wind or water. 

Explorations into the phenomenon of organic form are, like nature itself, worked carefully with intricate attention to the smallest detail, even within those pieces that manifest on a very large scale. Materials align with her muse: muscular materials like clay and paper mache for larger forms, fine threads and textiles for detail, yarns of silk, wool, mohair and stainless steel interwoven with dried plant material (cactus, leaves, roots, flowers), and collected spider webs mingle with watercolor on paper.

Informed by a life of parenting, teaching full-time and years of designing landscapes for others, Cooper’s process is deeply connected to the set of practical skills often learned from mothers and grandmothers: gardening, growing, making and mending. By passionately expanding upon these domestic methods of making, Cooper weaves a very personal tapestry of art in collaboration with life. •