Subtitled "Additional Observations on the Beauty/Ugliness of Mostly Pillowy Girls," Underbelly is a hardcover art book featuring over 50 of Cooper's luminescent oil paintings and lush drawings, each focusing on the female form. Underbelly is the follow-up to Cooper's acclaimed first book of paintings, Overbite. Since the success (and immediate sell out) of Overbite, Cooper has been producing new work at a fevered pitch for gallery shows and patrons alike. Although much of the work in Underbelly appears to have slithered out of a similar same place as Overbite, this latest batch has a decidedly darker and more urban flavor.
Cooper's meticulous glazing method of oil painting lends an almost unsettling obsessiveness and depth to his subjects: primarily innocent, or vacant, or menacing, or predatory women wearing little or nothing, and writing around a variety of settings, all produced over the past two years for a number of gallery shows in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
Before devoting himself mostly to painting over the last two years, Cooper created several acclaimed graphic novels, including Ripple, Suckle, Dan & Larry and others. He also contributed designs to the Matt Groening television series Futurama, and has collaborated with comedian David Cross and Vice magazine founder Gavin McInnes. 48 full-color pages, 10" x 10".
