Carl Cooper (Australia) ceramics

Carl Cooper was an Australian potter who was born in 1914 in Sydney. He studied at the East Sydney Technical College and the Royal College of Art in London. After graduating, he returned to Australia and set up his own pottery studio in Melbourne.

Carl Cooper (1912-1966) was a potter associated with the influential Boyd family. In the mid-1940s. He studied at the East Sydney Technical College and the Royal College of Art in London. After graduating, he returned to Australia and worked with Merric Boyd and John Perceval at AMB pottery, near the Boyd family home and studios ‘Open Country’ in Murrumbeena, a suburb of Melbourne. Cooper’s earthenware pieces were incised or painted in designs often influenced by Aboriginal bark paintings.

He had contracted poliomyelitis in his early twenties and each day, Arthur Boyd’s brother David would push Cooper’s wheelchair to the pottery, Cooper more... having lost the use of his legs from the poliomyelitis. Cooper's work is characterized by its simple forms and its use of earthy colours. He was influenced by the work of Japanese potters, and his pieces often have a minimalist aesthetic. He also experimented with different techniques, such as sgraffito and glazing.

Cooper eventually set up his own studio, but illness forced him to cease production in 1963 and he died in 1966 at the age of 52. His work is still highly regarded and are in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Powerhouse Museum. less...