Ron Cooper

1943–

Ron Cooper (b. 1943, New York) is an artist associated with the Southern California Light and Space movement. After training at the Chouinard Art Institute, he began exhibiting in Los Angeles in the late 1960s — including in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 1967 and 1969 Annual Exhibitions of Contemporary Painting — and in 1968 began his signature Light Trap series, layering tinted polyester resin and fiberglass to trap and hold ambient light. His 1972 lithograph Tri-Axial Rotation of a Floating Volume of Light, published by Cirrus Editions, is held by both the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; LACMA separately holds an untitled 1968–69 resin Light Trap acquired in 1970, and the Whitney Museum of American Art holds an untitled 1970 Light Trap, acquired as a gift in 2023.

Links: https://www.peterblakegallery.com/collections/ron-cooper
https://cirrusgallery.com/news/ron-cooper-in-a-new-light
https://louissternfinearts.com/attachment/en/6075baa32e3fdb7ad765be72/TextOneColumnWithFile/6064d068358261706f6766e2
https://harwoodmuseum.org/exhibition/ron-cooper-light-works/
https://collections.lacma.org/object/27434
https://collections.lacma.org/object/44074
https://www.moca.org/collection/work/tri-axial-rotation-of-a-floating-volume-of-light
https://whitney.org/collection/works/68198
https://whitney.org/artists/21066
https://albuquerque.emuseum.com/people/1791/ron-cooper

Films: The Art of Pacific Enterprises

Sources: Peter Blake Gallery. "Ron Cooper." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://www.peterblakegallery.com/collections/ron-cooper.

Cirrus Gallery. "Ron Cooper: In a New Light." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://cirrusgallery.com/news/ron-cooper-in-a-new-light.

Harwood Museum of Art. "Ron Cooper: Light Works." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://harwoodmuseum.org/exhibition/ron-cooper-light-works/.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Ron Cooper, Untitled, 1968–69." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://collections.lacma.org/object/27434.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Ron Cooper, Tri-Axial Rotation of a Floating Volume of Light, 1972." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://collections.lacma.org/object/44074.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. "Ron Cooper, Tri-Axial Rotation of a Floating Volume of Light." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://www.moca.org/collection/work/tri-axial-rotation-of-a-floating-volume-of-light.

Whitney Museum of American Art. "Ron Cooper, Untitled (Light Trap), 1970." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://whitney.org/collection/works/68198.

Albuquerque Museum. "Ron Cooper." Accessed October 14, 2026. https://albuquerque.emuseum.com/people/1791/ron-cooper.