The Artist

 


Bio

April Cooper known professionally as Art by April, is a New Jersey based artist whose work celebrates the beauty, resilience, and everyday elegance of Black culture. Her oil paintings capture moments that feel both intimate and universal, turning family gatherings, beauty rituals, and cultural symbols into timeless works of art.

April is currently developing her powerful series “Ghetto to Trendy,” which spotlights items and traditions once dismissed or labeled “ghetto” only to be embraced as “trendy” when adopted by white counterparts. Through her brush, these narratives are reclaimed, honored, and elevated as cultural heirlooms.

Her work is a vivid reminder that representation is not optional it’s essential.


Artist Statement 

My work is a celebration of Black culture, the moments, traditions, and symbols that shape our collective identity. Through oil painting, I capture the beauty in everyday life: a table full of family at a cookout, the confident tilt of a head framed by bamboo earrings, the laughter that spills from a late-night card game. These are the scenes that deserve to be preserved, celebrated, and passed down as cultural heirlooms.

I am deeply inspired by the ways our community transforms adversity into art, style, and joy. My ongoing series, Ghetto to Trendy, reclaims elements once dismissed or ridiculed — hair styles, clothing, music, and rituals and reframes them as symbols of pride.

My process is layered, beginning with an underpainting where I wipe away oil to reveal highlights, working almost in reverse. This approach mirrors the way I see my art’s purpose: revealing light and truth in stories that have been overlooked or misunderstood.

At its core, my work is an act of preservation. I paint so that future generations will not just know our stories they will feel them.

Artist CV

Exhibition History & Awards

2025

  • Passage Theatre – “Fine Arts Ripper”, Trenton, NJ

  • Moja Life – “Up in Smoke”, New Jersey

  • Artwork’s Art All Night, Trenton, NJ

  • ArtFair 14C – 6th Edition, Jersey City, NJ

  • Slamming Brew Art Cafe, Trenton, NJ

  • The Lobby Club – “Spring Bling Show”, Trenton, NJ

2024

New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship

  • La Galerie Adrienne, Trenton, NJ

  • Passage Theatre – “Fine Arts Ripper”, Trenton, NJ

  • Slamming Brew – “Spring Show”, Trenton, NJ

  • Art All Night, Trenton War Memorial, Trenton, NJ

  • Art in the Atrium, Morristown, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Cinco de Buck”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Love is Love”, Trenton, NJ

2023

  • Artworks Gallery – Members Show, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Trick or Treat”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Cinco De Mayo”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Return of the Mack”, Trenton, NJ

  • Artworks – “A Stolen Aesthetic” Solo Show, Trenton, NJ

  • Exit 7A – 420 Art Show, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Saloon – “Love is Love”, Trenton, NJ

  • Expo 42 – International Juried Show, New Jersey

  • Museum of Science and Industry – Black Creativity, Chicago, IL

2022

  • Ellarslie Museum – “This is Trenton”, Trenton, NJ

  • MCCC Group Show, West Windsor, NJ

  • Hub 13 – Community Show, Trenton, NJ

  • Art All Day, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “King of the Hill”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “A Whole Notha Level”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Spring Bling”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Collective – “Fine Arts Ripper”, Trenton, NJ

  • Starbucks – Solo Show, Trenton, NJ

2021

  • Artworks – 10x10 Show, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Saloon – “Krampus”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Saloon – “The Wonder Years”, Trenton, NJ

  • Mill Hill Saloon – “Ripper Show”, Trenton, NJ

2020

  • Art All Night – Virtual Show, Trenton, NJ

2019

  • Art All Night, Trenton, NJ

  • Urban Art Gallery – Caribbean Show, Philadelphia, PA

2018

  • Art All Night Selects Show – Artworks, Trenton, NJ

  • Art All Night, Trenton, NJ

  • Urban Art Gallery – Caribbean Show, Philadelphia, PA

2017

  • Art All Night Selects Show – Artworks, Trenton, NJ

  • Art All Night, Trenton, NJ

2016

  • Art All Night Selects Show – Artworks, Trenton, NJ

  • Art All Night, Trenton, NJ