Don Cooper’s exhibition, Path Within at Sandler Hudson Gallery continues his meditative painting process that focuses on the Indian concept of bindu. The paintings in Path Within have moved away from his previous repetition of tightly painted concentric circles in bright, pulsating colors. The works now appear as a fluid experimentation with his process and materials. While the bindu still serves as the central anchor point for the pieces, the composition is no longer tightly bound and directly oriented to the colorful dot. In previous series, Cooper’s palette defined much of the space represented in his compositions, however color is no longer the focal point of the paintings. The process by which Cooper applies his medium to the paper’s surface has new importance in the ritual of creating these works, reflecting a new relationship of the artist to his materials. The inks in his work pool and thin around the circle of his composition to highlight a more naturally rendered impression. The effect is both abstract and referential, recalling cellular make-up and geological forms. Cooper writes that the paintings in the show describe an interior view of the bindu – a place where all things begin and end. Although the works maintain a clean, affected circular form, the imagery held inside is seemingly endless. Like the rings of color from previous work, and still seen in some pieces of the show, the organic matter within these compositions is not stunted by its borders, but continues to emanate outwards.
Don Cooper: Path Within is on view through June 1, 2013.
An artist talk will be held on May 18th at 2pm.
-Susannah Darrow
