Johnnie Cooper: The Listener

Following on from Johnnie Cooperâs two other publications from Black Dog Press, Sunset Strip (2019) and Fractured Light (2020), The Listener centres on the most recent major body of work by the British Abstract artist. Inspired by Walter de la Mareâs brooding poem The Listeners (1912), this beautifully-presented book brilliantly conveys the power of Cooperâs monocromatic collection of paintings. These works serve as a meditation of the lived experience and the rich atmosphere of the artistâs rural surroundings. The Listener documents an important shift in Cooperâs practice, in toneâ"texture and also material, with the introduction of industrial bitumen paint. Overall, the paintings, which were executed at night time, bring a darker and more abstract emotion to the fore, confirming Johnnie Cooperâs current status as one of the most diverse and important British artists working in the UK today.

The body of work to which this book is dedicated, is heavily influenced by Walter de la Mare's famous and haunting poem, The Listeners. Here is an excerpt from the poem: 

But only a host of phantom listeners 

That dwelt in the lone house then 

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight 

To that voice from the world of men:  

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair, 

That goes down to the empty hall, 

Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken 

By the lonely Travellerâs call.

·      Johnnie Cooper is one of the most distinct and important British artists working in the UK today

·      Johnnie Cooperâs third book with Black Dog Press

·      Inspired by Walter de la Mareâs brooding poem 'The Listeners' (1912)

·      Documents a shift in Cooperâs practice in tone and texture, using industrial bitumen paint

·      Cooper lives near the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire