James Copper
James Copper is a figurative stone carver who lives and works in Essex. He was introduced to sculpture at a young age through a family connection with Henry Moore: his godfather, one of Moore's assistants, took him to the collections of Kettle's Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and to the home of Sir Frederick Gibberd in Harlow.
He trained at St Albans and at Canterbury College of Art, graduating in 1990, after earlier experience at Cyprus College of Art and Canterbury Cathedral. He went on to work as assistant to the sculptor Stephen Cox, and received the Tom Pemberton Travel Award, which took him to work at the Henraux marble yard in Italy.
He has exhibited widely across the UK, and his carvings are held in private collections in the UK and Europe.
Artist Statement
Travel and conservation have shaped my practice. As Sculpture Conservator at the Henry Moore Foundation, I have encountered global traditions, from the Tumaco culture of Colombia and Ecuador to British modernism. These influences, alongside Moore’s early works and the sculpture of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, inform my carvings, which explore time, emotion, and material.
Hands are a recurring theme, modelled on my own. They appear as nurturing forms, supportive structures, or more enigmatic presences—celebrating the creative tool that makes sculpture possible.
