CANADA
Collection: JESS RIVA COOPER
ARTIST STATEMENT
I approach clay as something alive—always shifting, breaking apart, and coming back together. I handbuild and reuse fragments from earlier sculptures, giving them another life in new forms. These hybrids don’t sit neatly within boundaries; they press against the very idea of containment. Instead of closing or concealing, my sculptures feel porous and unsettled, as if what’s inside can’t help but spill out, multiply, or change.
For me, containment is never permanent but always provisional. Clay remembers touch, pressure, and breakage, and in my hands it also carries the story of repair and reclamation. Each piece carries forward what came before, altered but not erased.
Jess Riva Cooper is a Toronto-based multi-media artist whose work integrates clay, drawing,
and other materials to create intricate sculptures and installation-based artworks. Her pieces
often explore themes of mythology, nature, and transformation, blending human and botanical imagery in ways that evoke vulnerability and resilience. In her sculptures, nature reclaims space, with plant forms sprouting, creeping over structures, and creating preternatural transformations that subvert order and invite chaos.
Cooper holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) and a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Her artistic practice is shaped by residencies at Medalta, Haystack, Lillstreet Art Center, The Archie Bray Foundation, and the Kohler Arts/Industry Program, among others. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto and the Cynthia Corbett Gallery in London. Through her sculptures, Cooper addresses ecological concerns and cultural storytelling, encouraging reflection on the interconnectedness of life, decay, and renewal.
Education
2010 – MFA, Ceramics, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2009 – Teaching Diploma, Brown University, Providence, RI
2006 – Diploma in Craft and Design, Sheridan School of Craft and Design, Oakville,
ON
2004 – BFA, Interdisciplinary, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, NS
Exhibitions: Solo
2027 – Idea Exchange, Cambridge, ON
2026 – Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Toronto, ON
2024 – Pullulate, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
2018 – Every Thread That Binds You, Fentster Gallery, Toronto, ON
2017 – Viral, Gallery House, Toronto, ON
2015 – Serotiny, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON
2013 – NCECA Projects Space, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
2011 – Sprouting at Bone, Katherine Mulherin Projects, Toronto, ON
2011 – Golem and Dybbuk: New Works by Jessica Riva Cooper, Kniznick Gallery,
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Exhibitions: Group
2025 - What Holds, Vessel and Sticks Gallery, Toronto, ON
2025 - Sights of Convergence, Varley Art Gallery, Unionville, ON
2025 – As it Unfolds, NADA, New York, NY
2024 – A Living Palette, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON
2024 – Collect 2024, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London, UK
2024 – Precious Objects: A Collector's Showcase of Young Masters Ceramics, Cynthia
Corbett Gallery, London, UK
2024 - Of Many, NCECA Richmond, Richmond, VA
2023 – Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramic Prize, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London,
UK
2023 – ICAF, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON
2020 – Ceramattack III: Delicate Multiplex, Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2017 – The Evocative Garden, NCECA Annual Exhibition, Disjecta Contemporary Art
Center, Portland, OR
2015 – OFF Artfair, Espace Art 22, Brussels, BE
2015 – Women: A Celebration, Arcadia Contemporary, New York, NY
2014 – Souvenirs from the Future: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics, Lawrence Arts
Center, KS
2014 – RBC Emerging Artist Exhibition, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON
2012 – Archie Bray Resident Artist Exhibition, Kolva Sullivan Gallery, Spokane, WAAwards & Recognitions
2025 - International Residency Grant, Canada Council for the Arts, Canada.
2023 – Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramic Prize, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London,
UK
2023 – Helen Copeland Memorial Award in Ceramics, Craft Ontario, Toronto, ON
2014 – RBC Emerging Artist, Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON
2012 – Wingate Scholar, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT
Artist Residencies
2026 – Medalta, Medicine Hat, AB
2025 – Mid-Atlantic Keramik Exchange, Kópavogur, Iceland
2013 – The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY
2013 – Arts/Industry, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
2012 – Medalta Historic Clay District, Medicine Hat, AB
2012 – Wingate Scholar, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT
2011 – Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
2011 – Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
2011 – 2nd Street SE Public Art Project, Medicine Hat, AB
Academic, Teaching & Visiting Artist Roles
2014–2023 – Sessional Faculty, Sheridan College, Oakville, ON
2015–2019 – Instructor, Barbra Schlifer Clinic / Gardiner Museum, Toronto, ON
2015 – Visiting Artist, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON
2012–2013 – Visiting Assistant Professor, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR
2011 – Visiting Artist, Concordia University, Montreal, QC
Publications / Bibliography
2017 – Montgomery, Marc. "Artist Jess Riva Cooper: Ideas in 3 Dimensions," Radio
Canada International, May 27.
2016 – Viral: Ceramic Sculptures by Jess Riva Cooper, Inspiration Grid, July 25.
2016 – Hey, Anne. 4 Degrees Arts, Ankama Éditions
2016 – Stouffer, Hannah. The New Age of Ceramics, Gingko Press
2015 – Insidious Ceramic Plants, The PhotoPhore, September.
2014 – Jobson, Christopher. "Haunting Ceramic Faces Overgrown with Vegetation by
Jess Riva Cooper," Colossal, April 7.
2014 – Viral Series: Ceramic Busts by Jess Riva Cooper, Hi-Fructose Magazine, April 22.
2014 – Kohler, Ruth DeYoung. Arts/Industry: Collaboration and Revelation, John
Michael Kohler Arts Center
2014 – RBC Emerging Artist People's Choice Award, Gardiner Museum
2011 – Golem and Dybbuk: New Works by Jessica Riva Cooper, Brandeis University
2010 – Featured Artist Profile, RISD XYZ Magazine, Fall Edition
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