Matt Copson
Utilizing examples from folklore, the culture industry, and ancient philosophy, Copson reintroduces familiar narratives, sometimes partially rendered or in the process of abstraction. Central to these narratives are protagonists or characters who typically express themselves in the form of a soliloquy while coming to terms with their current state or predicament, a predicament that can only be described as being highly dramatic, perpetually conflictual, and impossible to resolve.
For the last several years, Copson has focused on the specialized medium of laser animation. Traditionally employed in concerts, nightclubs, and Pink Floyd events, the artist became fascinated with the medium as a natural progression from what has been a foundational source for his practice both as a tool and as a conceptual methodology: drawing.
In contrast to a traditional moving image, laser animation distinguishes itself not only in terms of how light is manifested (and projected) but more importantly in how movement is rendered. In a moving image, the illusion of movement is depicted through multiple still images and the minute shifts between them. In a laser projection, movement is essentially generated by movement itself: mechanical motors rapidly move lasered points across a material surface to form a picture. Thus, even a still image generated by laser projection is continually in movement. Synonymous with the act of drawing, laser animation can be fundamentally understood as drawings in movement.
For Copson, this holds prismatic significance insofar as the primary concern of his practice since its onset has been contemporary subjectivity, defined by the conditional constants of flux, spectacle, and attention.
Matt Copson was born in 1992 in London, England. He currently lives and works between London and Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions include: Aspen Art Museum (with Oliver Leith), Aspen, USA; C L E A R I N G, Brussels, Belgium; Swiss Institute, New York, USA; Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York, USA; Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, France; Mönchehaus Museum, Gosler, Germany; Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London, England. Group shows include: CAPC, musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux, France; C L E A R I N G, Paris, France; Baltic Triennal 14, Vilnius, Lithuania; Timothy Taylor Gallery, New York, USA; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Ca’ Pesaro Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna, Venice, Italy; Tanya Leighton, Berlin, Germany; ICA, Sadie Coles, London, England; Rodeo, London, England.
In 2022, Copson introduced “Last Days”, an Opera in collaboration with composer Oliver Leith. The opera premiered at the Royal Opera House in London, UK.
Works
Exhibitions
Press
Curriculum Vitæ
Lives and works in London, England
SOLO AND DUO EXHIBITIONS
2025
KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany (forthcoming)
2024
Of Coming Age, C L E A R I N G, Los Angeles, USA
2023
Restaurant Satyr, High Art, Arles, France
Obituary (with Oliver Leith), Smuggler Mine, Aspen, USA
2022
Last Days (with Oliver Leith), Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom
2021
Age of Coming, C L E A R I N G, Brussels, Belgium
2020
Coming of Age, High Art, Paris, France
2019
Gred, Blorange, Yeluple, Swiss Institute, New York, USA
Down Boy, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York, USA
2018
Matt Copson, Mönchehaus Museum, Gosler, Germany
Blorange, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, France
2017
Eggy and Seedy (with Alastair Mackinven), Reading International, United Kingdom
2016
Sob Story, High Art, Paris, France
A Woodland Truce, Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2015
Reynard’s Fundament, Tramps, London, United Kingdom
Reynard Reforms, Vilma Gold, London, United Kingdom
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Flowers of Romance – Act Two, Lodovico Corsini, Brussels, Belgium
Flowers of Romance – Act One, Lodovico Corsini, Brussels, Belgium
2023
All Crescendo, No Reward, Zabludowicz Collection, London, United Kingdom
Maiden Voyage, C L E A R I N G, New York, USA
বন্যা, Dhaka Art Summit, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2022
Barbe à Papa, CAPC musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux, France
Hollow Earth: Art, Caves & The Subterranean Imaginary, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Reflector de Miríadas, Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid, Spain
2021
Grand Menage, C L E A R I N G, Paris, France
Emotionarma, PEER, London, United Kingdom
London Zeitgeist, curated by Norman Rosenthal, CIRCA, Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom
Reconfigured, Timothy Taylor Gallery, New York, USA
The Dreamers, 58th October Salon, Belgrade Biennale 2021, Belgrade, Serbia
2020
NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
The Secret Life of Lobsters, C L E A R I N G, Knokke, Belgium
2019
Fabula Rasa, Tanya Leighton Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Bold Tendencies, site specific commission, London, UK
Breathless – London Art Now, Ca’ Pesaro Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna, Venice, Italy
My Head is a Haunted House, Sadie Coles HQ, London, United Kingdom
Dracula’s Wedding, Rodeo, London, United Kingdom
2018
C.R. McBerny, Zwinglistrasse 4, Berlin, Germany
To Die For, Castiglioni, Milan, Italy
2017
As Above So Below, Irish Museum of Art, Dublin, Ireland
I’m Nobody!, High Art, Paris, France
2016
dead among the dead! Ellis King, Dublin, Ireland
Back to Front Space, Primary, Nottingham, United Kingdom
The Green Ray, Wilkinson Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2015
The March Project, Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates
2014
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2014, ICA, London, United Kingdom