James Cooper III

Chicago-born James J. Cooper III is a Buffalo based visual artist who has worked the last 25 years portrait painting, freelance illustrating and mural painting. James has also served the community within his teaching career with the Buffalo Board of Education since 1994. James also instructed art and drawing with Buffalo Art Studio and Albright Knox Art gallery between 1996-2009. This has taken place while he’s also been heavily involved in the spoken word scene in Western New York since 1999 (including a 12 year stint as EM-TEA coffee cup café original open mic host along with time and tenure with Poetic Voices then Njozi Poets as well as Njozi Ensemble.) 

Highlights in Cooper's visual art career include book illustrations, producing public art projects, creating indoor and large outdoor murals.  July 2016 he joined Main Street Gallery as resident studio artist and assistant art director/curator. His mediums vary from airbrush, oil, acrylic, digital computer generated imagery and photography. James has created art on various surfaces including Plexiglas, cardboard, wood, automobiles, fiberglass, canvas, brick, fabric, concrete and poly-laminate aluminum boards.

In 2020, Cooper created a mural, depicting John E. Brent, Buffalo’s first African American architect, was installed at the Buffalo Zoo. Cooper produces colorful and evocative abstract works for traditional and public settings. 

James greatly enjoys discoveries made during his creative process. He has experienced this especially while creating his style of art which focuses on line, movement color and the human figure. Recently he joined Main Street Gallery after a long loving studio residence at Buffalo Art Studio. While BAS allowed James to flourish within a group of striving artists, Main Street provides a place where he has begun to explore and grow on an individual level. This growth is includes but isn’t restricted to being a visual artist.