The Maddox Gallery in Gstaad opened a thrilling and vivid exhibition by American visual artist Cooper on 15 July. Cooper will work from a pop-up studio in the gallery, providing visitors with a unique and immersive experience. GstaadLife caught up with him to talk art, inspiration and fondue.

Did you always want to be an artist?
My mom has a book in which I wrote: “Andrew Cooper, seven years old,” and drew myself as a stick figure painting a big canvas. There were other little signs like that – in eighth grade my artwork got picked to be on the cover of the yearbook – but I was primarily into sports. Art was just something that came naturally to me and which I found fun. I grew up in Indiana where there was no such thing as an artist; if you liked art, you became a teacher and I knew I didn’t want to do that.

I applied to study business in college and ended up switching to art school. My parents aren’t artists themselves so they were like: “Art? What do you mean art? What is that?” That’s how they initially saw it. But I thought this could be my future and they got on board. And so I dove in head first and really started working as an artist.

Can you tell us about your artistic journey and how you developed your unique style?
At college, I took a bunch of design and painting classes and over time started to narrow down what I focused on. Then I found Instagram and saw other artists building their brands there. I started to learn about this and was hungry to find out where I could take my art.

Art for me touches on every aspect of my daily life. It’s my job and profession, but also integral to my identity. I enjoy the focus and constant development of my practice, the discipline of working every day helps my progression, both as an artist and as a person. My new canvases are definitely more expressive and funky. My work tends to be vibrant; I love making new patterns and for my artwork to radiate positivity.

What inspired the works you will exhibit at Maddox Gstaad this summer?
It’s an evolution from my first show with Maddox as well as touching on Gstaad. I love Matisse and Picasso and have been studying still life because it’s a good way for me to explore colour combinations where I get super wild. I can put a big table out and fall into the drawing and start painting everywhere. I’m including a porch scene in the exhibition that’s looking into the mountains as though it were a chalet - I see this as me bringing my young fresh style to Gstaad and I’m looking forward to seeing the real thing in person

How do you approach the creative process?
I’m in the studio every day, seven days a week, to get something going. For me it’s about staying in the zone as much as possible every single day so that the work is as good as possible. In preparing for this exhibition I didn’t go on vacation for five months.

If you wait for inspiration nothing’s really going to happen because you can wait and wait and wait. You just have to jump in. I think life is really about taking action; if you do that, things will come. Timing is a big issue too. I had to do 20-something paintings in five months for this exhibition, so there’s not really much time to be waiting around for inspiration. You’ve just got to get in there, start working, and figure it out as you go.

You’ll be running a pop-up studio in the gallery?
Yes. This is my first time doing something like that so I’m super excited. The ground floor of the gallery will show my new paintings and I’ll be working in a pop-up studio on the first floor, introducing visitors to my practice and canvases in progress. Seeing how someone works is always interesting, and I intend to make the experience fun and engaging. I hope people will enjoy seeing the creative process in action, whether they’re an artist or not.

How do you choose the materials you work with?
I learned to paint acrylic on linen so that’s my main approach for now. Maybe one day I’ll experiment with oil or something like that, but for now I’m still trying to master my technique. There’s always something new to learn, a new way to put down the paint, and it takes a long time. It’s never ending.

Have any particular artists or art movements influenced or inspired your work?
It changes from time to time while I’m growing as an artist, but the main ones are Matisse – I love the simplicity of his colours – and Basquiat. There are also a couple of contemporary artists– Danny Fox from London and Andy Dixon. I have a stack of books on other artists that I’m studying.

What does an artist do when he is not being an artist?
My life’s pretty simple right now. I’m trying to start a big career so I’m very focused. I work out in the mornings, eat, paint and take my beagle for walks. In my downtime I enjoy art documentaries featuring older artists. This probably doesn’t seem much fun from the outside, but art is really my passion, so to me that’s an enjoyable day.

What advice would you give to young artists?
You’ve got to have a vision of where you want to go and be prepared to work as hard as possible every single day. Never take a day off and grab every opportunity that’s placed in front of you, whether you’re getting paid or not. As long as you do your best work, keep showing up and growing, it’s going to lead to better places.

Have you been to Gstaad before?
No I haven’t. I’m looking forward to seeing some beautiful mountains and hiking a bit. I’ll be seeking out some new inspiration to put in my paintings, meeting new people and checking out the food. In Indiana I grew up on fondue so it’ll be good to try the Swiss variety.

ANNA CHARLES

WE WILL BE FOLLOWING COOPER DURING HIS STAY IN GSTAAD AND IF YOUR ARE NOT IN TOWN TO SWING BY MADDOX AND SEE FOR YOURSELF, YOU CAN FOLLOW COOPER ON INSTAGRAM: @iam.cooper