RON COOPER: RACERS & COMBOS
July 2 - 30, 2025
Imagine a valley running east to west. Surrounded by mountains and hills, roughly three miles across and ten long. Tracked by the sun, a hollow bowl filled with space and light. Small enough to be at a comfortable human scale. See a landmark, point to it, turn your feet there, and walk. Some evenings the sun, setting over the Pacific Ocean nearby, fills the valley with colored particles of golden light. This is the Ojai Valley, in California, where Ron Cooper grew up – cradled in a sort of crucible of light and space.
Now turn to Cooper’s latest iteration of his Vertical Bars series, the Combos. Made of long, thin boxes of Plexiglas, from certain angles, they appear to float. On their outward facing surfaces, color, texture and shimmer hover over the wall, while the boxes themselves are filled with light, so that the pieces are lit from within.
The world shapes us. Cooper’s childhood in the Ojai Valley shaped him profoundly, influencing not only his passions and perspectives, but the attitudes he brings to his working life every day. Part of this influence is of course the fascination with light and space, so beautifully transmuted into the Combos with their juxtaposed Plexiglas boxes that allow the pieces to become containers, or perhaps more aptly, valleys, of light, illuminating the sometimes diffuse and sometimes particulate pigments which he has painstakingly layered with lacquer on the front surface.
A spark of light from a lamp or a change in the angle of sun might set off a cascade of shifting hues. What was one thing becomes another. Moment to moment. Day to day. Different, fluid, transforming. There is room here for both choice and chance. Over decades Cooper has honed his skills with the contemporary materials he utilizes, experimenting with new sources of pigments (early on he even worked with pigments derived from pearlescent fish scales) as well as ways to change and disrupt his surfaces. However, just as there is an inherent element of the unknown to the way these pieces react to light under different conditions, Cooper’s process involves elements of intuition and improvisation, a dance between skill and chance, structure and the unexpected.
However, it is not just Cooper’s artistic output that has been influenced by these early origins. In the gallery along with the Combos are two of his favorite retrofitted racers. For Cooper, becoming an artist wasn’t a forgone conclusion, as a young man he was drawing hotrods, sure he would become the greatest car builder in the world.
But again, there was a transformation. Just out of high school, a yearlong trip with his best friend to Europe via New York brought him into contact with great museums and great art. Steeped in this wealth of art history, Cooper decided to pursue art, eventually receiving a scholarship to the famed Chouinard Art Institute. During his time at school and then working in studios in and around Los Angeles in the 60’s, Cooper was part of the loose collective of artists in the Light and Space Movement.
His love of cars never went away, as Cooper says he always had, “great, special cars.” But then about ten years ago Cooper built his first car, combining a ’29 Model A chassis with a ’31 A and a hopped-up touring engine. Since then, he has continued to build racing cars, as well as to race them himself, combining bits and pieces of classics as well as custom made parts. Here again is an example of the attitude toward creation he learned early – a confidence to pursue whatever physical or technical skills are necessary to complete a project.
Ron Cooper’s life has been filled with moments of artistic transformation. From his early experiences to his pursuit of art, his explorations of light and love of cars to his years long evangelism of artisanal mezcal. (Another fascinating tale of discovery and transformation … he calls mezcal “liquid art” for how the special liquor changes something “in the back of your head”.)
As Cooper says, “A work of art is successful if it changes the viewer.” The world shapes us, even as we shape the world. Ron Cooper rides this dynamic line, creating works that may just shape us, as well.
- Michaela Kahn, PhD
, 2025,
, 2025, pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass, 48 x 3.625 x 3.625 inches
Laddie, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC059
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Lux, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC071
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$18,000
$18,000
Eric, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC072
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Paula, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC081
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$18,000
Marshall, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC069
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Joseph, 2025 pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC073
Click to inquire about this work
$18,000
$18,000
Brice II, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC077
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$18,000
Ad, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC083
Click to inquire about this work
$18,000
$18,000
Lynda, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on lexiglass
168 x 7.25 x 3.625 in.
RC065
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Goro, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
120 x 7.25 x 3.625 in.
RC079
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Kenny, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
120 x 7.25 x 3.625 in.
RC080
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Chuck I, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC082
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$18,000
Billy, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
96 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC076
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Katya, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC070
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Brice I, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC054
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Walter, 2025
pearlescent pigment in automotive lacquer on plexiglass
48 x 3.625 x 3.625 in.
RC060
Click to inquire about this work
$18,000
$18,000
Born: 1943 in New York City, NY
Lives & works in Ranchos de Taos, NM
Education:
Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Awards:
1980 National Endowment for the Arts, photography
1971 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Theodoran Award and Fellowship
1970 National Endowment for the Arts, painting
1968 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Young Talent Award
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2025 Ron Cooper: Racers & Combos, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2021 Ron Cooper: Cars & Bars, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
In a New Light, Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA
2015 Ron Cooper, Frankliln Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY (Catalogue)
Ron Cooper: Irony & Enigma, 203 Fine Art, Toas, NM (Catalogue)
2012 Nyehaus, New York, NY (Catalogue)
2010 Nadie Es Perfecto, Oaxaca, Mexico
2009 203 Fine Art, Taos, NM
2007 Nadie Es Perfecto, Oaxaca, Mexico
2005 Colectivo Central, Oaxaca, Mexico
2001 Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM Gallery 68, Austin, TX
2000 Collectors Gallery in Taos, Taos, NM
1999 C.A.F.E., Albuquerque, NM
1991 Sena Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
1990 C.A.F.E., Albuquerque, NM
Maguire Thomas Partners/IBM, Los Angeles, CA
1989 Pacific Enterprise Corporation, Los Angeles, CA
1988 Sena Galleries West, Santa Fe, NM
1987 Gallery 454 North, Los Angeles, CA
1986 G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Janie Beggs Fine Art Ltd., Aspen, CO
1985 Neil G. Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Wohlert Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
The Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Works Gallery, Long Beach, CA
1984 Neil G. Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Neil G. Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
DVS Gallery, Taos, NM
1983 Advanced Art Gallery, Rinconada, NM
1982 The New Gallery, Taos, NM
Robin Cronin, Inc., Houston, TX
1981 Peppers Art Gallery, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1980 Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
The Kitchen, New York, NY
1979 Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1974 ACE Gallery, Venice, CA
Art in Progress, Munich, Germany
1973 Galerie Alfred Schmela, Dusseldorf, West Germany
Galerie Folker Skulima, Berlin, West Germany
1972 La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA (Catalogue)
ACE Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1971 Lo Guidice Gallery, New York, NY
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
1970 Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf, Germany
Michael Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1969 Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf, Germany
Pomona College Art Gallery, Claremont, CA
ACE Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2021 Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2014 The Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Kayne Griffin Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Barbara Mathes Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA (Catalogue)
Center for Visual Art, Denver, CO
2011 LA Art Fair, James Kelly Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV
Nyehaus, New York, NY
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, CA (Catalogue)
2009 Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
2008 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
203 Fine Art/ Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
2005 Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, N
1999 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
1997 Anderson Contemporary Art, Albuquerque, NM
1989 Broschofsky Galleries, Ketchum, ID
Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1988 G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Modern Objects, Los Angeles, CA
Hand Graphics Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1987 Santa Fe Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Captain Dwight Long, Los Angeles, CA
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
The Fine Arts Gallery, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Stables Art Center, Taos, NM
The Works Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Jeffrey Linden Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1986 Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Saint Johns College, Santa Fe, NM
The Works Gallery, Long Beach, CA
Gallery 454 North, Los Angeles, CA
Jeffrey Linden Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
The Gallery, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Sena Galleries West, Santa Fe, NM
Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1985 Kron/Reck Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Neil G. Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Madison Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Neil G. Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1983 Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Neil G. Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Advanced Art Gallery, Rinconada, NM
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Pirate Gallery, Denver, CO
1982 Conejo Valley Art Museum, Thousand Oaks, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Fullerton College Gallery, Fullerton, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA
Fort Worth Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
1981 La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
Lonny Gans and Associates, Venice, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Memorial Union Art Gallery, University of California at Davis, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA(Catalogue)
LA Louver Gallery, Venice, CA (Catalogue)
Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1980 Baxter Art Gallery, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (Catalogue)
Otis Art Institute of The Parsons School of Design, Los Angeles, CA (Catalogue)
Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, NY
1979 Maggie Kress Gallery, Taos, NM
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA (Catalogue)
Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY
Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1978 Camera Works Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Stadtlische Kunstalle, Dusseldorf, West Germany; traveled to New York and Jerusalem (Catalogue)
1977 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA (Catalogue)
1975 California State University, Long Beach, CA (Catalogue)
1974 Junior Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
Lang Art Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA
1972 Art in Progress, Zurich, Switzerland
Betty Gold Fine Prints, Los Angeles, CA
ACE Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Albright-Knox Art Galleries, Buffalo, NY
Mizuno Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Kassel, West Germany
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; traveled to five venues throughout the United States and Canada (Catalogue)
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Friends of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO
San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA (Catalogue)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
The Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB, Canada; traveled to two venues in the United States and Canada (Catalogue)
1971 Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
1970 The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (Catalogue)
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH (Catalogue)
The Douglas Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
1969 Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA (Catalogue)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (Catalogue)
Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, West Germany (Catalogue)
Reese Palley Gallery, San Francisco, CA
West Side Center, Los Angeles, CA
Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Marion Koogler McNay Museum, San Antonio, TX
1968 University of California Art Gallery, La Jolla, CA (Catalogue)
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Seattle Art Museum Pavilion, Seattle WA
M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (Catalogue)
Noah Goldowsky Gallery, New York, NY
Hansen Fuller Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (Catalogue)
Selected Collections:
Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Atlantic Richfield Corporation, Los Angeles, CA
Bank of Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills, CA
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France
Fort Worth Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany
La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Neue Galerie, Aachen, Germany
Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA
Security Pacific National Bank, Los Angeles, CA
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, CA
University of Redlands, Redlands, CA
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
