Norman Cooper

From my earliest, dim recollections I always had a pencil, a crayon or a brush in my hands and I was always drawing. After studies at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Students League I served in the Army during the Korean conflict. Upon my honorable discharge from military service I came to the realization that I would have to temporarily curtail my artistic aspirations in order to support my habit – I had developed the need to eat on a regular basis. Raising a family entailed fulltime devotion to business and to family.

Decades later, as retirement beckoned, I was able to indulge in the pursuit of art. Extensive travel and exposure to diverse cultures and artistic expression resulted in whetting my appetite for differing insights and perceptions. Numerous trips to Asia synthesized my respect and appreciation for the traditional precepts of Chinese art. The seemingly paradoxical spontaneity of spirited oriental brushwork synthesized within the strictures of Chinese painting disciplines served as my introduction to Zen-like spirituality inspired by Chinese art.

I am pleased and honored to have had my Asian paintings exhibited in venues in Europe, Asia, South America and North America. Among the prominent institutions in the US that have exhibited my work I am proud to include: The China Institute (NYC), the Hammond Museum (N. Salem. NY), the National Arts Club (NYC), the Audubon Society of America (Greenwich, CT) and the White House (Washington D.C.).

I receive much enjoyment from Chinese art and hope that it brings pleasure to the viewer.