Darin Cooper

Out the way

UTA Artist Space LA is pleased to present Out the way, an Artist Project of mixed-media work by Darin Cooper. This new body of work depicts modern day Black Southern Culture, exploring a rich confluence of the Church, hip hop, family ties, and the legacy of American slavery. Using powerful imagery, Cooper reminisces on his experience growing up in the South, creating scenes of dancing, cookouts, car culture, and being “in the boonies” come nightfall.

“I want to portray what it feels like to be Black in the South in this era of time”, says Cooper.

Working primarily in acrylics, he achieves his signature watercolor-like look by using rubbing alcohol to disintegrate parts of the original pigment, creating a glaze of color across different shades. He then collages this foundation with referential prints to complete the intended image, building a mixed media take on traditional acrylic painting.

Out the way presents Cooper’s interpretation of present-day Southern culture through the lens of his personal experiences.

Darin Cooper (b.2000, Newport News, Virginia) is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Cooper’s practice is grounded in the diaspora of the African American family in the South. Redefining the notion of what family is or what it is supposed to look like, a family that isn’t defined by whiteness, his work contemplates lineage, memory, and mourning which coincide with erasure as a consequence of slavery. Cooper has exhibited his work in several galleries such as Bode Projects, Grove Collective, Seville Gallery, and Andrea Festa Fine Art Gallery. Cooper was a recent resident at The Macedonia Institute Residency and is currently pursuing his BFA at the School of Visual Arts where he is expected to graduate in 2023.