Cooper Union

Demetrius Oliver

Adjunct Instructor

Demetrius Oliver received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. He is an alumna of several residencies including the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, MFAH Core Program and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Oliver’s work has been exhibited widely, with solo exhibitions at the Print Center, Klaus von Nichtssagend, Henry Art Gallery, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, High Line, Inman Gallery, D’Amelio Terras, and P.S. 1/MoMA. Group exhibitions include MASS MoCA, The Renaissance Society, The Studio Museum of Harlem, Marian Boesky Gallery, Roberts & Tilton, Acme, and Sotheby’s S|2 gallery. His work is in the collections of the Henry Art Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Blanton Museum of Art, Tang Museum, Hood Museum, RISD Museum, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Articles and reviews of Oliver’s work has appeared in the New York Times, Artforum, Time Out, Village Voice, Modern Painters, and Art in America.

Bolide IV, melted whistle encased in glass, 8” diameter

Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.
“My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”
From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.
Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.