About — Cooper Gorfer

Gallery representation:
LARSEN WARNER
JACKSON FINE ART

Cooper Gorfer comprises the artists Sarah Cooper (US, SE, 1974) and Nina Gorfer (AT, 1979). Their work centers around themes of illusion, memory and dislocation, illustrating the malleability of identity through layered pictorial collages of the female experience.

“We share a deeply rooted interest in the female story and how our experiences and socio-cultural background influence our sense of self. Our work strives to articulate the unapparent and the hidden desires we hold dear, paying tribute to the many layers of life and memories that shape us.” Cooper Gorfer

The artist duo is known for their distinct hybrid portraits of women and immersive worlds with socio-political undertones. With a point of departure in photography, their work ranges from physically layered collages with painted and embroidered materials, to photographs of disassembled images in different states of ephemeral montage. The complexities of their subjects are reflected in the process and the fragmentation of the artwork’s surfaces.

Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer reimagine the tradition of portraiture by visually examining and deconstructing the narrative layers of those they portray. As much audience as creators, the artists’ own experiences are intertwined with that of the protagonist, resulting in images in which several epochs are simultaneously present. Like art history’s Mannerists and Surrealists, Cooper Gorfer strain observable reality through a filter of memories, moods and wounds.

Cooper Gorfer began their collaboration in 2006. They live and work in Sweden. Their artwork has been widely exhibited at museums including: Hasselblad Center, NOMA New Orleans Museum of Art, Nuuk Art Museum in Greenland, The National Museum of Photography Copenhagen, MAK Frankfurt, The Arctic Conference St. Petersburg, and Fotografiska, amongst others. Cooper & Gorfer’s work is included in several private and museum collections, including the National Gallery of Iceland. Alongside their artwork, The artist duo design accompanying monographs. They have been awarded the German Photo Book Award in 2018 for their book I Know Not These My Hands (2017 Kehrer Verlag). Their film, Between These Folded Walls, Utopia, was given honorary mention for the Short Award at Tempo Documentary Film Festival in 2021. Cooper Gorfer are Fuji Ambassadors.

Cooper Gorfer are represented by Larsen Warner (Stockholm, Sweden) and Jackson Fine Art, (Atlanta, USA)

Art series

When We Are Giant
Hysteria (2022–)

Between These Folded Walls, Utopia
Utopia (2017–2020)

I Know Not These My Hands
Argentina (2011–2017)

Interruptions
Sápmi (2015–20176)

The Weather Diaries
Nordic Fashion Biennale (2012–2014)

My Quiet of Gold
Kyrgyzstan (2006–2011)

Latent Now
Qatar (2008–2011)

Delirium
(2020)

In a House of Snow
Iceland (2005–2008)

Books