American painter John Copeland was born in California in 1976 and received a BFA in 1998 from the California College of Arts and Crafts. Upon graduating, Copeland moved to New York, where he continues to live and work.

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His Neo-expressionistic paintings capture the darker side of human drives and desires concealed within the everyday. He works in an elaborately gestural style, with raw and bold brushstrokes often with heavy impasto and large drips all over the canvas, distorting his figures so that they merge into the background. The relationship between abstraction and figuration has been a continuous focus throughout Copeland’s career. Copeland has stated, ‘I’m more interested in using the language of painting and working with the edge of abstraction, working with the push and pull of paint, image, readability and texture.’

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Copeland’s work has been exhibited internationally in Copenhagen, Bologna, Zurich, New York, Leipzig and most recently at the Newport Street Gallery in London.