Medina artist featured in prestigious MAG show in Rochester

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 August 2015 at 12:00 am

Provided photos – James Cooper created this 4′ x 6′ acrylic on canvas he entitled “Albert’s Park.” It is one of 68 pieces of art featured in the 65th Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition at Memorial Art Gallery.

MEDINA – A painting from a scene in New York City by James Cooper is one of 68 pieces highlighted in one of the area’s most prestigious art shows.

Cooper painted the 4-by-6-foot artwork of East Fourth Street. He was sitting in his car at 9 a.m., watching people going to work when he started drawing. He shows a woman picking up litter with a cane. There is an image of a bird as graffiti on a building.

Cooper adds a spirit in the trees. The spirit is happy with the woman picking up the trash, and presence of so many community gardens.

The Medina native returned to his hometown three years ago after a decade in SoHo, an artist community in New York City.

James Cooper is pictured with his painting at the Memorial Art Gallery. After a career in SoHo in New York City, Cooper moved back to his hometown of Medina three years ago.

He has been painting many local scenes and landscapes since coming home. He also teaches art classes, and takes small groups out on location to draw and paint.

“I came back to paint the local area,” Cooper said. “I wanted to do something authentic.”

Cooper, who also works as an architect, is the son of an art teacher. He has enjoyed rediscovering small town life.

“I got tired of the density of the city in SoHo,” he said.

The 65th Rochester-Finger Lakes Art Exhibition is a juried show at the Memorial Art Gallery. This is a long-running showcase for artists from western and central New York. The show opened on July 26 and remains on view through Sept. 13.

This year’s exhibition features 68 works by 46 artists. They were chosen from a field of 920 entries by 330 artists by Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art.

For more on the show, click here.

For more on Cooper, click here.