{{Short description|American artist}} {{Infobox person | image = Self portrait 2 of artist Adam Cooley.jpg | caption = Self portrait | name = Adam Cooley | birth_date = | birth_place = | occupation = Painter, sculptor, performance artist }} '''Adam Cooley''' is an American artist whose works include painting, sculpture, performance art, fashion design, lithography, interior design and film. He currently lives between Osaka, Japan and New York.<ref name="Kansai Time Out">{{cite magazine|last=Moran|first=Simon|date=October 1999 |title=A Day in the Life of an Artist; A Portrait of Adam Cooley |magazine=Kansai Time Out |location=Kobe, Japan}}</ref>
== Early life ==
Adam Cooley was born in Rochester, New York. His family moved over 11 times to various parts of New York State. He grew up in a small rural community in Western New York State.<ref name="Cooley 8-9">Cooley, Adam (2016). ''Adam Cooley: Reflections in the Light of Darkness'', pp. 8–9. Adam Cooley, New York. {{ISBN|978-0-9973542-0-1}}.</ref> The direction of his work was decided early in life and at the age of twenty-two he suffered the first of several heart attacks due to a medical condition which influenced the themes of his artwork and was a major catalyst for the direction of his future works, abundant output and deliberate, focused work-ethic.<ref name="Muller 206-207" />{{rp|250–251}}
== Dominant themes == thumb|right|x285px|''Cooking Dinner for the Little Lady'' by artist Adam Cooley, Medium: acrylic on wood, Dimensions: 51 cm x 73 cm
Cooley's imagery is often overly fantastic and suggest a strong surrealist influence. It is not only the subject of the paintings that reflect this idea but the techniques and processes used in their development. This can extend to how he exhibits his art. At an exhibition in Kyoto, at the Gallery Maronie, the works themselves were manipulated, touched, and handled by spectators. The resulting change, wear and tear that emerged was intended by the artist as part of the artwork itself. One such work – a painted ball contained in a sandbox that spectators were encouraged to roll, touch, and move – helped in the transformation of the ball by tearing and scratching its painted surface.<ref name="A Touching Experience">{{cite news |last=Yoshihara |first=Akino |date=March 1998 |title= A Touching Experience |newspaper=Daily Yomiuri |location=Kyoto, Japan}}</ref> Other works are laden with metals and gold-leaf, which he transforms using processes such as oxidization and aging to finish his pieces. Often it can take months or even years of aging before the artist considers the works done. It is this transformation of the work itself, a physical object, which mirrors the more fundamental concept, namely transformation of the spirit that is often the subject of his paintings, sculptures and performances.<ref name="Muller 206-207">Muller, Karin (2005). ''Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa'', Rodale Books, Emmaus, Pennsylvania. {{ISBN|1-59486-523-X}}, 9781594865237.</ref>{{rp|206–7}}
== Artwork == thumb|left|''The Suckling Pig'' by artist Adam Cooley Medium: oil / acrylic on linen canvas, Dimensions: 41 cm x 66 cm Cooley began exhibiting works – mostly paintings – along with performance art pieces while living in New York. He regularly exhibited works after settling in Asia during the early 1990s.<ref name="Muller 206-207" />
The artist has created and executed various performance art pieces throughout his career, which have rarely been documented. One exception is a piece titled "Bonsai (2003)" which was documented in a book and corresponding documentary broadcast on public television in fall 2005. Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller.<ref name="Japanland">{{cite video |people= Muller, Karin (Producer) |date=6 November 2005 |title=Japanland |url=http://pbsinternational.org/programs/japanland/ |medium=Television Production |language=en |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) |location=United States}}</ref>
Cooley has created in multiple art forms including performance art, interior design, fashion design, painting, sculpture, lithography, printmaking and film.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Queer Film Festival |magazine=Kansai Scene |location=Osaka, Japan |publisher= Daniel Lee, Mojoworks KK |date=July 2005}}</ref> In 2001, selected works – including the painting "Cooking Dinner for the Little Lady" – were exhibited in the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} The museum has also procured two of his works: "Cockadoodle Surprise" and "The Black Beauty" for their permanent collection.{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}} He was the first living foreign artist to have a solo exhibition in the Daimaru and Hankyu Department stores.<ref name="Kansai Time Out" />
In 1998, an exhibit of over 70 works, entitled "Anella", was held at the Maronie Art gallery in Kyoto, Japan. The concept was to exhibit artworks in a barrier free environment in order to broaden the sensual appreciation of art. The works themselves were all highly textured and tactile. They were placed in low positions, allowing spectators to enjoy through touch as well as visual sensation. He approached the Nippon Lighthouse Organization (organization for the blind and visually handicapped) who were excited by the idea and helped to publicize his exhibition. This exhibit allowed visually-impaired spectators to experience otherwise traditional artworks through the sense of touch. The exhibit consequently became highly publicized, with all of the major newspapers – including The Mainichi Newspaper, Asahi Newspaper and The Daily Yomiuri – covering the show.<ref name="A Touching Experience" />
His works sometimes demonstrate a playful eclecticism, with respect to theme and technique, as shown by an exhibit held in Kyoto in 1999. The exhibit featured amulets constructed of wood and gilded gold-leaf with glass. The "hand-crafted wooden charms" suggested a contrast with modern consumerism and the traditional spirituality that is associated with Japanese animism and the Shinto religion. The small hand-sized amulets were entitled "Kamisamagotchi", as a play on the Japanese word for God: "Kamisama" and the ubiquitous "Tamagotchi" so popular in Japan at the time.<ref name="Yoshihara">{{cite news |last=Yoshihara |first=Akino |date=July 1999 |title= Amulet Artworks on Sale, Display at Kyoto Gallery|newspaper=Daily Yomiuri |location=Kyoto, Japan}}</ref>
==Appearances in other media== Cooley's paintings are featured in the Japanese film {{nihongo|"Spit and Honey"|唾と蜜|Tsuba to Hachimitsu|"Spit and Honey"}}, by film maker Kenji Maki.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}
== Selected exhibitions == thumb|right|Title: Masa and the Horse Artist: Adam Cooley Medium: oil / acrylic on linen canvas Dimensions: 56 cm x 76 cm *''ECD Christ'' (1994), The Blue Nile Gallery, Osaka, Japan.<ref name="Kansai Time Out" /> *''Anella'' (1998), Maronie Gallery, Kyoto, Japan.<ref name="A Touching Experience" /> *''Adam Cooley: Introspection'' (1999), Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan.<ref name="Kansai Time Out" />{{better source needed|date=November 2018}} *''The Golden Woman'' (2002), The Red Brick Warehouse, Osaka, Japan.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} *''The Mask'' (2012), Hankyu Department Store, Osaka, Japan.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} *''Mechanical Animals'' (2014), Daimaru Department Store, Kyoto, Japan.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} *''Sea of Love'' (2018), Gallery Nao, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Adam Cooley Exhibition –Sea of Love- |magazine=Gekkan Bijutsu |location=Tokyo, Japan |publisher= San Art Co., Ltd. |date=March 2018}}</ref> *''OIAF Oxford International Art Fair'' (2018), Oxford City Council, Town Hall, UK.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} *''Flower of Love'' (2018), Hankyu Umeda Gallery, Osaka, Japan<ref name="Gallery Magazine Interview">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Adam Cooley –Flower of Love- |magazine=Gallery Magazine|location=Tokyo, Japan |publisher= Sou Hokkai Tokyo Co., Ltd. |date=Dec 2018}}</ref> *''Flower of Passion'' (2019), Gallery NAO (Nakamura Art Office) Roppongi<ref name="Passion of Adam Cooley">{{cite magazine |last= Campbell|first= Finnegan |date=December 2018 |title= The Passion of Adam Cooley |url=http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/tablog/entries.en/2018/12/the-passion-of-adam-cooley.html|magazine= Tokyo Art Beat|location= Tokyo}}</ref> *''Adam Cooley・我妻 瑩眞 二人展「LOVE × 愛」'' (2022), Daimaru Art Gallery, Kyoto, Japan<ref name="Art Collector's Magazine">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title='Adam Cooley・我妻 瑩眞 二人展「LOVE × 愛」 |magazine=Art Collector's Magazine |location=Tokyo, Japan |publisher= Seikatsu no Tomosha |date=Feb 2022}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{official website|http://www.iamadamcooley.com/}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Adam}} Category:20th-century American painters Category:20th-century American printmakers Category:20th-century American sculptors Category:21st-century American painters Category:21st-century American sculptors Category:21st-century American male artists Category:American contemporary painters Category:American expatriates in Japan Category:American male painters Category:American male sculptors Category:Living people Category:American postmodern artists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:20th-century American male artists