Yvette Cohen

The medium is drawing and painting, but my thinking is sculptural. My artwork transforms space. I’m excited to put graphite to paper and experience every mark. The graphite is an extension of my hand and my mind. My drawings are breathing, pulsating entities that vibrate with a life of their own. Naturally evolving abstract marks define a density of space. My paintings seemingly fluctuate between flatness and volume and appear to float in space.


I was born in Egypt and grew up in Paris and Montreal and now live and work in New York City. It’s the immigrant experience. From the rumblings of the earthquake in me, yes, the uncertainty, the unknown, the apprehension, from this void, comes the need to create peace of mind; a shape of power, presence, and assertiveness countered by meticulously controlled, well-behaved, geometric structures and occasional playfulness, beyond the boundaries of what is familiar. It’s autobiographical.

The idiosyncrasies in my work engage the viewer in exciting and different ways to consider the space and the art, larger than the actual tangible art.

In 1976 Yvette Cohen received a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal where she studied with Guido Molinari. After moving to New York she continued her education attending classes at the Art Student’s League, the School of Visual Arts, and the Whitney seminars. For a year she worked in lithography at the Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop.
In 1983 she established Plum Graphics Inc., a greeting card company, recognized for its unique images and products. There she received several nominations and a Louie award for her work. Louie awards are the Oscars of the greeting card industry.
In 2004 she returned to the studio to pursue her fine art full time. She lives and works in New York City.
The Katonah Museum of Art, Frosch & Co. in New York, Odetta Gallery in Brooklyn, the National Academy of Art in New York, the Paul Robeson Galleries at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the Washington Square East Galleries of New York University, as well as several site-specific installations are among the venues that have exhibited her work.

2021
•DO STACKS, Frosch&CO, New York, NY
•Challenge XIX (Online), Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, NY
•2021 (Online), FlatFile Gallery, New York, NY
•8x8 Art On Paper, FlatFile Gallery (Online), New York, NY
•VIRAL Collaboration, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago,

2020
•8x8 Art On Paper, FlatFile Gallery (Online), New York, NY
•On The Wall, FlatFile Gallery (Online), New York, NY
•Hammond November virtual show, Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY
•Hammond October virtual show, Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY
•Hammond September virtual show, Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY

2019
•2018-19 Atmospheric Perspective, Curated by Christina Massey, Chashama Madison Avenue, NY

2018
•Atmospheric Perspective, Curated by Christina Massey, Chashama Madison Avenue, NY •LAS GRAVITAS, ODETTA Gallery, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY
•FLAT? Kentler International Drawing Space, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
•GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, NATION VI, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2017
•Duality: Glimpses of the Other Side, Islip Museum, East Islip, New York •COLOR+SHAPE=SPACE, Site-Specific Installation in Flatiron District, Basta Pasta, New York, NY •NATION V THRU THE RABBIT HOLE!!! Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS prior to 2017
•Spe...