“Extraordinary exhibition” at Kennaway House – Friday 2nd to Wednesday 7th May
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Over the years, VGS member Graham Cooper has provided many visions for Sidmouth – and now is a good time to consider a retrospective and an appreciation of Graham’s work.
As well as looking at all of this remarkable achievement on these news pages, there will be a wonderful opportunity to view his visionary work at Kennaway House Sidmouth – in a new exhibition starting next week.
Here’s the press release, plus the poster and more:
GRAHAM COOPER – ‘VISUAL MUSIC’ – AT KENNAWAY HOUSE – 2ND TO 7TH MAY 2025
Graham Cooper has always been drawn to working with visuals.
He had had an art studio for years at the Spitalfields Market in London, but when the market was redeveloped in 1998, he moved to Sidmouth in East Devon.
Trained as an aeronautical engineer, Graham became involved in mural painting in Bury, Greater Manchester, before going on to the Royal College of Art.
As a founding member and later chair of the Art and Architecture Society, he pursued a career as an art practitioner, lecturing and teaching, writing and creating.
Graham has been involved in many projects over the years, including curating the Japan Festival to bring Japanese artists and architects over to the UK in 2001.
In a recent interview with Historic England, Graham expressed his dissatisfaction with the built environment now.
“The UK is moving away from iconic, photogenic buildings towards a conservative approach because the funding isn’t there. There are fewer major schemes because of concerns about climate change and retrofitting, which makes architecture less glossy, which I think is a good thing in many ways.”
Graham sees a return to craftsmanship in the built environment though.
“It’s important that we leave an imprint on the modern world, as with so much of the old world, which is why it is important to preserve the folk tradition, modest buildings with interesting conversions and extensions.”
He has donated his slides of Japan to the British Library as well as several thousand photographs to the Sid Vale Association.
Since settling in Sidmouth, Graham has made use of his experience locally.
For example, his awareness gathered during his time in Japan of the importance of using art and design as well as nature in health care settings set in motion his designs for the Healing Garden at Sidmouth’s Victoria Hospital.
His interest in design has meant his deep involvement in local design projects, from the Neighbourhood Plan to the Port Royal area – including being included in the final shortlist for an international competition to redesign this iconic area on the seafront.
But it is his eye for the visual – for colour, for pattern, for design – which sees Graham embark on his latest project, the upcoming exhibition “Visual Music” at the Kennaway House arts centre in Sidmouth at the beginning of May.
In several extraordinary works, he explores musical notation, linking it to colour-spectrum theory. Graham has created over a thousand paintings depicting various chords in different tunes on canvas, and the exhibition shows the most thrilling examples of turning music into colour.
The show also displays further iconic views of Sidmouth as expressed in Graham’s exciting and expressive style, together with a range of his own publications from his Hamonie Press.
The exhibition runs from Friday 2nd to Wednesday 7th May, 10am to 4.30pm, at Kennaway House, Sidmouth, EX10 8NG
More information is available on his website https://www.grahamcooper.com/
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