It seems quite obvious that the varied, yet figurative, work of Eileen Cooper has a strong female perspective. Regardless of the imagery it is firmly rooted in what one might call an autobiographical core. With prominent themes including sexuality, birth and relationships her work has tracked her life, to form a powerful body that speaks to both men and women alike, albeit interpreted slightly differently by each of the sexes.
Original watercolour dated 2007
I was personally drawn to her work from the 1980's which is rich in colour , Gauguin like in its symbolism -emotional and imaginative- with recurring themes that appear to tell the story of life. She is a " journey woman" whose work is rather like visual poetry, cataloguing love, family life, working while balancing motherhood (she is the mother of two boys) , and the changes both in her life and in a wider social context as she has matured.
Indeed, her work is worthy of an essay but this is not the place for that and in fact much has been written about her, particularly since she became the first female Keeper of the RA in 2010.It says a lot about Art in general that it has been so male dominated and we, here at Blondes Fine Art, find it refreshing that such a great female artist is now in such a influential position. Let us hope that she is able, through teaching and indirectly through exhibition, to act as a role model to young female artists of today. She understands the issue well having personally been very much a lone female figure among many men, when she moved to London to study at Goldsmiths in 1971.
Eileen Cooper is a woman of today ,and her work has always been relevant and unique. In the last decade the imagery has become toned down in colour; it is less primal and more embedded in the real world; her work has changed and matured with her, yet retains a quirky edge that makes one think and add interpretation . Whether it is the images of dance or trapeze , tigers, horses or tortoises there are always figures in Cooper's work to remind us that we are the centre of our own world. She is one of our finest contemporary artists and one that we look forward to watching as she continues on her artistic journey.