COOPER AND GORFER
THE COLLECTORS
Cooper & Gorfer comprises the artists Sarah Cooper from the US and Nina Gorfer from Austria. They are storytellers of the highest level, masters of color and work by heart. The artist duo investigate different cultures and myths with great curiosity. Based on the stories and lives of the women they meet and collaborate with, Sarah and Nina s explore issues of memory, migration, dislocation, and the malleability of identity. The artist duo are known for their distinctive hybrid portraits. Their photo-based collages are anchored in anthropological research of people and place. Sarah and Nina reimagine the tradition of portraiture by visually examining and deconstructing the narrative of those they portray. Like art history’s Mannerists and Surrealists, Cooper & Gorfer strain observable reality through a filter of memories, moods and wounds.
Sarah and Nina began their collaboration in 2006. They live and work in Sweden. Their artwork has been widely exhibited at museums including: Hasselblad Center, Kulturhuset Stockholm, Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, The National Museum of Photography Copenhagen and Fotografiska. Cooper & Gorfer's work is included in private and museum collections. They were awarded the German Photo Book Award 2018 for their book I Know Not These My Hands (2017 Kehrer Verlag). Cooper & Gorfer are Hasselblad Ambassadors.
