Echoes of Industry: Advertising and Signage

Ron Copeland is a NE Ohio native, who spent a decade working in Pittsburgh, and has now relocated back to northeast Ohio. Copeland is an installation artist and sign painter who utilizes analog printing, sign painting techniques, and photography to create nostalgic works for gallery and museum display, commercial spaces, and art for private collectors. Copeland’s work focuses on aesthetics and concepts of the past filtered through a contemporary lens to create dreamlike, fragmented visual recollections of bygone eras. The scope of his themes ranges from the history of Jazz, the concept of “HOME”, general stores, railroad, and reusing disregarded materials.

His work starts by gathering historic or relevant information and inspirational imagery from archives. His research driven creation has led to being hired to create works for clients and collectors focused on more narrow themes such as the history of a building, neighborhood, company or local signage. For nearly a decade Copeland worked with a client creating several signage assemblage murals in office spaces around the U.S. These murals focused on the local identities of each city they are installed in. After gathering keywords and themes, he researched the subjects looking for any aspects of visual content that could inspire his works, if there was no existing data to be found on a given topic Copeland would create a wholly new sign or graphic for the theme. The finished murals resemble a fragmented vintage collection of signs and adverts that reflect a local sense of pride in place.