Mitch Cope

Mitch Cope was born on Detroit’s west side in 1973. He currently lives and works on Detroit’s east side. The origins of Mitch’s artwork come from his passion for how landscape/cityscape are shaped by social and historical events. Over the years his work has evolved from observer of the landscape to playing an active role in reshaping it, from his participation in the Shrinking Cities Project in Germany, his part in the formation of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD and his collaborative efforts with Gina Reichert with Design 99 and currently with their neighborhood arts nonprofit, Power House Productions. Cope’s studio practice continues to explore concepts of landscape by reworking old Detroit bungalows, collecting and reorganizing found hoards, landscaping a skatepark, all while still utilizing a combination of painting, photography, sculpture and the moving image.  

 

In 2009, Cope and Reichert founded Power House Productions (PHP), an artist-run neighborhood based nonprofit organization facilitating the work of artists, art & culture in developing a community. PHP initiates long-term projects and relationships, dynamic cultural & recreational programming and claims public space. Reichert and Cope have established a network of project houses strategically situated throughout the Detroit neighborhood where they live and work. PHP is supported by individual donors as well as local and national funders including the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Place America, the Kresge Foundation, Erb Family Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

 

In addition, Reichert and Cope have exhibited at such notable institutions as the Van Abbemuseum (The Netherlands), Smart Museum (Chicago), MOCAD (Detroit), US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Mattress Factory (PIttsburgh). Their work has been published widely including Domus, New York Times, Juxtapoz, Hyperallergic, and and they have been awarded the Juried Grand Prize at ArtPrize, a Creative Capital Grant, Resonant Detroit Grant from Ford Foundation, and a Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship.

 

Mitch Cope has lectured widely at notable institutions throughout the US and Europe, including the Pulitzer Foundation, United States Artists Assembly, Frieze Art Fair, U.S. Embassy - Turkmenistan, Gerrit Reitveld Academie - the Netherlands, Venice Biennale - Dutch Pavillion. His work has been shown in the U.S. and abroad including at the KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin, Kunsthalle Dresden, Germany, Van Abbemuseum Netherlands, Smart Museum Chicago, Mattress Factory Pittsburgh and  MOCAD Detroit.  Cope is represented by the David Klein Gallery in Detroit.