Copeland was born in California in 1976, and went on to attend the California College of the Arts, and in 1998 he received his BFA.

Recent solo exhibitions include: ‘Wolves Wait At Your Door’, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (2016);  ‘You’ll Never Be The Same’, Galleria Marabini, Bologna, Italy (2012); and ‘Old Glory’, Nicholas Robinson Gallery, New York (2009).

Recent group exhibitions include:  ‘Nude’, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (2017); ‘The Brask Collection meets Willumsen’, J.F. Willumsens Museum, Frederikssund, Denmark (2017); ‘Salon Djurhuus’, Munkeruphus, Denmark (2016); ‘Bad Painting’, John Copeland & Katherine Bernhardt, V1 Gallery at Spinnerei, Leipzig, Germany (2013); ‘Summer Reading’, The Hole, New York (2013); ‘Hell Raisers’, Galerie Lange + Pult, Zurich, Switzerland (2012); ‘Wonder Works, Master Works from Private Danish Collections’, The Museum Of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark (2012).

The artist lives and works in New York City.