Richard Shortland Cooper

Richard Shortland Cooper (b. 1962) has exhibited widely, completing major public commissions in New Zealand and abroad including Auckland’s largest public sculpture He Taonga Hiranga Whakanui Whanau (A Gift to Portray the Importance of Family), 2000 located in Manukau City. At the forefront of Richard’s work is the celebration of whanau and community. The theme of nurture, encouragement and understanding within family structures is a central concern.

Richard studied at the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, completing his Doctorate of Fine Arts in 2004. He was the former head of art at the Buck Nin School of Art, Te Wananga o Aotearoa from 2000 - 2006. Richard draws from the influences of both his Maori (Nga Puhi/Ngati Hine) and Cook Island heritage and takes inspiration from his wife Rula and four teenage children.

In his major Millennial sculpture He Taonga Hiranga Whakanui Whanau Richard involved the community by incorporating into the work designs made by students from neighbouring colleges. Richard also included the hand prints of successive generations of his own family in the sculpture. Over 11 metres tall the work consists of five separate structures grouped together. ‘The Family’, which it is commonly referred to, has become an icon of Manukau City winning a prestigious Creative New Zealand Award in 2001.

Richard’s contemporary work references many cultures and merges techniques of the traditional carver and contemporary sculptor. He works in a variety of mediums from steel, concrete, wood and bronze. Richard has exhibited throughout New Zealand, Australia, France, United States, Japan, Canada and the Pacific region including solo exhibition The Parrot Fish Returns at The Art Studio, Rarotonga (2005) and Turning Tides (2006) a group exhibition at the Graduate Gallery, University of California in San Diego.

Among his many achievements include participation in the International Sculpture Symposium in St Pierre de Chartruese, France in 2001 and in 2002 he was awarded a Pacific Innovation and Excellence Award from Creative New Zealand. Richard has also published two books ‘Kaitiaki / Mentors’ and ‘My Journey’ which tells of his life experiences from his early years in forestry through to his thriving career as an artist and educator.