Cooper Union

David Derish

Technical Assistant, Painting/Drawing
Instructor, Continuing Education

Born and raised in New York City, where he currently lives and works. David studied art and art history at Columbia University and received his MFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since graduating, David has worked in the Painting Office at the Cooper Union, where he contributed two educational resources to the School of Art curriculum, The Studio Handbook and Painting Green. David has exhibited work both in the United States and internationally, as well as completing several artist residencies, including Yaddo and The Vermont Studio Center.

Courses

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.