Bruce Adams

Simulate Direct Experience with Freeing Marks

2001- 2006

Bruce Adams is best known as a conceptually based figurative painter who references various (often historical) painting styles. In exploring the act of painting, Adams peels back the...

"Spirit" a bold and thoughtful cubist oil on canvas was painted in December of 2001 by African American artist William (Bill) Cooper. William Y. Cooper was a writer, painter, muralist, illustrator, and art teacher. He moved to Western New York in 1954 from Birmingham, Alabama, to pursue work, and Buffalo has been his home ever since. In 1975, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University at Buffalo; he was also a state certified art teacher. Cooper woked primarily in oils and acrylics, but also creates drawings on paper. He has painted several commissioned murals and has had more than fifteen one-man shows in Western New York and Ghana, West Africa, and has participated in more than twenty-five group exhibitions since he began his professional career in 1969. His paintings and drawings address both his African heritage and his experience as an American through symbolism and metaphor. He observes, “I am an Afrocentric artist. My worldview is rooted in an African frame of reference and a deep, abiding sense of the creator from whence I draw my inspiration, strength, and a sense of who I am. The use of symbols allows me to explore literal ideas.” Among Cooper’s published works are two children’s books, 77 Jackson Street, Rear and Nakai and the Red Shoes, and a novel for adults, The Mopane Tree. Cooper founded the Afrocentric Artists’ Collective and ran the organization from 1979 to 1981. In 2013 he was designated a “Living Legacy” artist by the Burchfield Penney Arts Center, the latest in a series of honors which has also included awards from the Arts Council of Buffalo & Erie County, the New York State Council on the Arts, and Alpha Kappa Alpha...

Nicely painted mid century abstracted figurative painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. No signature found. Great color and composition. Nicely framed in a period modernist molding.

Very finely executed modernist ballet scene. Pastel and gouache on paper. Handsomely framed. Image size, 12H by 16L.

Bay Area Poolside Figurative Abstract, S.S. Claremont Hotel in Acrylic on Paper A fun and vibrant figurative acrylic painting of a woman ready for the pool in a blue bathing suit in...

A seated redheaded figure is the focal point of "Herculaneum", a unique assemblage painting composed of three canvases with abstract and figurative paintings, attached to a wood panel painted with black text by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker...

Translated title: "We are in everything" Oil paint on canvas. It features a wooden frame and it can't be hung, since it is meant to lean against the wall.

Large-scale abstract assemblage by Bay Area artist Michael Pauker (American, b.1957). Lively assemblage with various items: Paintings, small mirrors, biological illustrations of bird...