Yvette Cohen

My work floats in an unframed space. I draw and I paint but I think sculpturally. My flat boldly colored shaped painting sculptures, paintings that look like sculptures, are positioned to convey infinite air and unlimited possibilities. Shapes are canvas under wooden dowels, or simply canvas pieces. Paintings are 2-D and mount flat on the wall. Pieces seemingly fluctuate between flatness and volume. Drawings, also about volume and space, zoom in to focus on subtle intimate details.

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, 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
•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
•Speaking Volumes...and Voids, Sculptor’s Alliance, Governor’s Island, NY
•Stack/File: Selections from the Kentler Flatfiles, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn, NY •SELECT Art Fair, ODETTA Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
•Diptychs, Triptychs, Multiples, City Without Walls, Newark, NJ
•Art to the Point, Katonah Museum of Art, NY
•Formed Perceptions, Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
•Defying Gravity-Sculptural Paintings at Cassina, A Solo Site-Specific Painting Exhibition, SOHO, NY •TROYART, Museu Brasileiro da Escultura, São Paulo, Brazil
•Edwin Abbey Mural Fellowship, National Academy of Art, NY
•Sculptors Alliance 30th Anniversary Exhibit: Then and Now, Tompkins Square Library Gallery, NY •Exquisite Corpse, Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers University, NJ
•32nd Annual Small Works Show, NYU 80 Washington Square East Galleries, NY

AWARDS
•Edwin Abbey Mural Fellowship, National Academy of Art, NY •Louie Award, Greeting Card Industry
PUBLICATIONS, REVIEWS, ART TALKS
•Las Gravitas Art Talk, ODETTA GALLERY, December 16, 2018. •https://artspiel.org/las-gravitas-at-odetta/ November 20, 2018 by Sharilyn Neidhart •The Artist Catalogue, Fall 2015 http://www.theartistcatalogue.com/low_res/Fall_2015_Volume_4_Issue_3.pdf
•The Artist Catalogue, Summer 2014 http://www.theartistcatalogue.com/low_res/Summer_2014_Volume_3_Issue_2.pdf •Exquisite Corpse, Paul Robeson Galleries, 30th Anniversary
•100 SUPER HOT ARTISTS FOR 2014, http://artbookguy.com/yvette-cohen-sculptural-painting_757.html
•Wreath Interpretations, New York Times, December 5, 2014. Page C22
•ItalianGoodNews http://www.italiangoodnews.com/?p=7550
•The Examiner http://www.examiner.com/article/sculptors-alliance-inc-supporting-sculptors