Statement

I investigate abstraction in ways that are based in, but also depart from, modernist tenets. What makes work interesting and relevant? Perhaps its link to our social decisions – our thought processes, how we communicate with each other, how we go about making the world one we want to inhabit.

For a long time I have been committed to the theory and practice of painting with its deep roots in western aesthetics. Painting counters and resists the partial attention deficit disorder endemic to our current information age based on digital technology. It fosters an extended and gratuitous contemplation of the world and our experiences, a chance for prolonged closeness with one’s own thoughts, and a “slowing” of time. My paintings must both describe and be this.

Bio

New York artist Cora Cohen is known for opulent yet gritty paintings that draw on contemporary urban and philosophical sources. Michael Steinberg Fine Arts, New York, Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, Galerie Mariann Ahnlund, Stockholm, and Markus Winter, Berlin have exhibited her work which has been acquired by The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Swedish State Art Council, Stockholm; The Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro; The Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch Collection, Berlin; and the Widener Library, Cambridge. She has been the recipient of many awards including those from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, the Pollock Krasner Foundation, the NEA, the New York Foundation for the Arts, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York, the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Space Program, Brooklyn, New York; and The Edward F. Albee Foundation, New York.

Cora Cohen received her B. A. and M. A. from Bennington College, Vermont. She has taught at art schools and universities in the States and abroad including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; New York University; The University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Maryland Institute College of Art; and The Educational Alliance, New York.

Education

Bennington College, Vermont, B.A., M.A. (Painting and Drawing) 1972

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2012

Nau-haus Gallery, Houston, Texas

2011

Field Institute Hombroich, Museum Insel Hombroich, Neuss, Germany

2008

Come in a Little Closer, Michael Steinberg

Fine Art, New York, New York

Oblique Forms: Spray Paint Paintings, Photographs, The Hybrid Indexical

2007

Adventure Series, Abaton Garage, Jersey City, New Jersey

Markus Winter Gallery, Berlin, paintings, drawings

Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona

2005

Abaton Garage, Jersey City, New Jersey, drawings, photographs, altered x rays

2004

Jason McCoy Inc., New York, New York

2003

National Focus Artist 2003-2004, Emory and Henry College, Emory, Virginia

2002

Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona

2001

McCoy Chelsea, New York, New York

1999

Belvedere Strasse 149a, Koln, Germany, paintings and altered x rays

Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona

1998

Jason McCoy Inc., New York, New York

Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, California

'The Mob Within the Heart', Hring Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany, paintings, altered x rays, vellum

1997

Hering Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany, Cohen/Koberling drawings

Upstairs Hering Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany, drawings

1996

Cora Cohen: paintings and altered x rays 1983-1996

Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska

Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

1994

Jason McCoy Inc., New York, New York

David Beitzel Gallery, New York, New York, drawings

1993

New Arts Program, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, paintings/drawings/vellum 1990-1993

Jason McCoy Inc., New York, New York

1992

A/C Project Room, New York, New York, Cohen/Deleporte

1990

Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, New York

1988

Wolff Gallery, New York, New York

1984

Max Hutchinson Gallery, New York, New York

1983

Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, New Jersey, paintings and drawings

1980

Max Hutchinson Gallery, New York, New York, paintings and drawings

1979

Max Hutchinson Gallery, New York, New York

1977

State University of New York at Oneonta, New York

1976

Soho Center for Visual Artists, New York, New York, Cohen/Fortgang

1974

Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions

2011

It’s All Good!! apocalypse now, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2010

Carl Plansky and Friends, Sam and Adele Golden Gallery, New Berlin, New York

This World, Other World, curated by David Grozinsky, Firehouse Gallery, Burlington, Vermont

The Feminine in Abstract Painting: new works by Cora Cohen, Melanie Parke, Kiki Slaughter, and Margie Stewart, Emily Amy Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia

It’s a Wonderful 10th, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2009

The University of Texas at Dallas, Visual Arts building, Main Gallery

William Shearburn Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

Michael Steinberg Fine Art, New York, New York

2008

University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, North Carolina

Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

2007

Stalke Kirke Sonnerup, Denmark

Clinton Corners, New York

Elder Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina

Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey

2003

Sheldon Art Galleries, St. Louis, Missouri

N3 Project Space, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York

2002

Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York, New York

2001

Jan Van der Donk, New York, New York

Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, New York

1999

Galerie Mariann Ahnlund, Stockholm Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden

Hunter College, Times Square Gallery, New York, New York

Hering Raum Stahlwerk Willich, Willich

McCoy Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri

Jason McCoy Gallery, The Art Fair, The 69th Regiment Armory, New York, New York

1998

Stalke Out of Space, Copenhagen, Denmark

Weatherspoon Art Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina

Galerie Mariann Ahnlund, Stockholm Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden

Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, Texas

Newman & Cronin, New York, New York

David McKee Gallery, New York, New York

The Puck Building, New York, New York

The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tuscon, Arizona

Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa

1997

Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, California

Pat Hearn Gallery, New York, New York

1996

Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, New York

Stefanie Herin at Auto Kaiser, Koln, Germany

The Gramercy Park Hotel, New York, New York

Hering Raum Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, New York

1995

CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, New York

A/C Project Room, Stockholm, Sweden

1995 Benefit Gala, White Columns, New York, New York

New York University, Apex Art, New York, New York

1994

Trans Hudson Gallery, Jersey City, New Jersey

Out of the Blue Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

Penine Hart Gallery, New York, New York

Klein Art Works, Chicago, Illinois

Bill Maynes Contemporary Art, New York, New York

Jason McCoy Inc., New York, New York

Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, New York

1993

White Columns, New York, New York

Benefit Auction, Los Angeles, California

Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, New York

The Painting Center, New York, New York

Jason McCoy Inc., New York, New York

1992

Schmidt Contemporary Art, St. Louis, Missouri

Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, New York, new York

A/C Project Room, New York, New York

Piccolo Spoleto, Charleston, South Carolina

Sandra Gering Gallery, New York, New York

Sytsema Galleries, Baarn

A/C Project Room, New York, New York

John Post Lee Gallery, New York, New York

Sandra Gering Gallery, New York, New York

1991

Wolff Gallery, New York, New York

Feigen Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

1990

Genovese Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

Penine Hart Gallery, New York, New York

1989

Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California

Urban Gallery, New York, New York

1988

Saxon-Lee Gallery, Los Angeles, California

Penine Hart Gallery, New York, New York

Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, New York

The Harcus Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

1987

Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

Dia Art Foundation, New York, New York

Baskerville + Watson, New York, New York

Lever/Meyerson Galleries, New York, New York

Bette Stoler Gallery, New York, New York

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, New York

1985

Baxter Art Gallery, Pasadena, California

Parrish Art Museum, Southhampton, New York

Kamikaze, New York, New York

1984

Blum Helman Warehouse, New York, New York

Cable Gallery, New York, New York

1982

College Art Association New York City Convention, New York, New York

1979

Cadman Plaza East Courthouse, Brooklyn, New York

Bibliography available upon request

Symposia/Interviews/Panels/Lectures

2012

Painting in the Age of Digital Technology, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont

2011

Living Together, School of the Arts Columbia University, Visiting Lecture Series

2010

Is Painting a Language? symposium moderated by Joan Waltemath, Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

Becoming A Painter, Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

2009

Lecture, Vermont Studio Center

2008

"Once or a Thousand Times", moderated by Wendy Gittler, New York Artists Equity Association, The Art Students League, New York, New York

2007

"Being a Painter", University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2006

"My Work", Fordham University, New York, New York

"On Her Work", New York Studio School, New York, New York

1999

Open Studio to Benefit the Coalition for the Homeless

Interview with Cora Cohen, published by Bentley Gallery to accompany a solo exhibition

1998

Contemporary Painting: Interview with Cora Cohen by Robert Pope as part of a Dissertation on Contemporary Abstract Painting, Florida State University

1996

"Kunstmarkt New York/Koln", Interview by Peter Kruger, Koln, Germany

1995

"Artists in the Studio: Cora Cohen", video aired on channel 16, December 17, 1995, New York, New York

1992

"The Feminie in Abstract Painting", moderated by Anna Chave, Sandra Gering Gallery, New York

1991

Round Table on Abstraction under the auspices of Tema Celeste at Charlie Clough's, New York, New York

1989

"Institutions of the Art World", moderated by Paul Mattick, American Society of Aesthetics, New York, New York

Grants and Awards

2009

The Edward F. Albee Foundation Residency, Montauk, New York

2008-09

The Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Space Program Residency, Brooklyn, New York

2006

Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award

1998

The Pollack/Krasner Foundation Award

1990

Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award

1989

New York Foundation for the Arts, Painting Fellowship

1982

Fellow, Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, New York

1969

University of Pennsylvania, Fellowship in Fine Arts-Painting

1964

Bennington College, Fellowship in Studio Art

Selected Teaching (Complete listing available upon request)

2007-10

The Educational Alliance, New York, New York - Contemporary Painting

2007-08

The Educational Alliance, New York, New York- Advanced Oil Painting, Acrylic Painting, Contemporary Painting

2006-08

Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont- Visiting Clinic

2006

Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland- Adjunct Faculty

2005

New York University- Visiting Artist

Private Studio Tutorial- Drawing

2004

The New School, New York- Visiting Artist

State University of New Jersey, Newark- Adjunct Faculty

2003

Washington University, St. Louis- Visiting Artist

Emory and Henry College, Emory, Virginia- Visiting Artist

2000

Corcoran Museum and School of Art- Visiting Artist

Vermont Studio Center- Visiting Critic

1998-03

The University of North Carolina, Greensboro- Associate Professor of Art

1999

Vermont Studio Center-Visiting Critic

Press

• Smith, Roberta: The New York Times, “Chelsea: Art Chockablock with Encyclopedic Range” November 2008
• Waltemath, Joan: The Brooklyn Rail, “Cora Cohen” November 2008
• Riley, Jennifer: artcritical.com, “Cora Cohen: Come in a Little Closer at Michael Steinberg,” October 2008
• Quinlan, Cathy Nan: artcritical.com, “Shape Shifters: New York Painters,” May 2008
• Fendrich, Laurie: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Chronicle Review, Brainstorm “The Interface of Art and Humanity” February 23, 2008
• Maine, Stephen: “Keeping it Real” catalogue essay to accompany the solo exhibition Oblique Forms: Spray Paint Paintings, Photographs, The Hybrid Indexical Adventure Series at Abaton Garage, September 9 – October 31, 2007
• MacAdam, Barbara: Art News, “The New Abstraction,” Volume 106, Number 4, April 2007
• Buhmann, Stefanie: “Experience versus Experimentation” catalogue essay to accompany the solo exhibition of paintings and drawings at Galerie Markus Winter, Berlin, February 10 – March 31, 2007
• The Art in Embassies Program, United States Embassy Sarajevo, 2006 catalogue
• Bortz, Lauri: “Far Less Tangible States of Being, Cohen’s altered x rays, drawings and photographs” August 2006
• Maine, Stephen: Art in America, February 2005
• Buhmann, Stefanie: The Brooklyn Rail, “Reviews” November 2004
• Schwabsky, Barry: “One Art” essay to accompany 2004 exhibition