Thomas Joshua Cooper: Messages, Haunch of Venison, London

Running since 1 February, Haunch of Venison presents an exhibition by internationally renowned landscape photographer Thomas Joshua Cooper. Choosing some of the remote and isolated locations around the world, Cooper has been capturing landscapes for over 30 years. This exhibition, entitled Messages, brings together over 20 photographs, many not seen in public before, that showcase rare works from the beginning of his career.

The photographer has been a figurehead for British fine art photography since the 1970s as both a practicing artist and within the field of art education. After a visit from Cooper in 1973, Nottingham Tren Polytechnic became an important centre for landscape photography. He then worked in the Midlands for the next six years, making works in the quarries and forests and on the moors of Derbyshire and Shropshire, where he made some of the early works that are the focus of this display.

The works included in Messages are chosen to also tell the story of who has influenced and inspired his work. Cooper believes that there is always an ongoing dialogue between the artist and their peers and precursors when producing work. The works in the exhibition make this idea explicit by including the subtitle, “Message to…” and include artists such as Richard Serra, Robert Frank and Timothy O’Sullivan and also the great Japanese haiku poets Basho and Issa.

The photographs in the exhibition range from the past 30 years and are made in diverse geographical locations including the UK, California, Derbyshire, Tokyo and Provence.

Thomas Joshua Cooper: Messages, until 28 March, Haunch of Venison, 103 New Bond Street, London W1S 1ST.

Credits
1. The Ritual-Mid, Thomas Joshua Cooper, courtesy of Haunch of Venison and the artist.