Dan Coopey is a British artist living and working in Minas Gerais, Brazil. To be honest I’d not heard of him until a friend sent me a link to one of his Instagram posts about this exhibition. The Corvi-Mora is fairly local to me but again, I’d never visited. So a double first!
Coopey studied fine art at Goldsmiths but taught himself basketry techniques, and the pieces in this exhibition showcase his mastery, including twining, coiling, and looping.
The materials, too, mix store-bought fibres like sisal and jute with plants foraged locally, such as water hyacinth, hops, and buriti (Mauritia flexuosa, a type of palm).
I love his experiments with form as well as materials. All his works are recognisably containers: two contain eggshells and sheep fleece, two others are wrapped around boxes or frames, while Auricle, Beer Belly and Pierrot (Autumn/Winter 2025) are more sculptural in form.
Soft-fibre basketry is often quite small scale. Coopey’s exhibition shows how impressive it can be when scaled up.
Satellites by Dan Coopey runs at Corvi-Mora until 17 April 2025.
