I have known Cora Cohen's work briefly but it wasn't until recently (the show Signs and Systems where I also saw Sunday Pick Sean McDonough of two weeks ago) that I saw it in person. The same was true of her work as the other standouts in that show, the surfaces were thrilling.
Her work is quiet and slow, qualities that are not always lauded in the contemporary art world and I don't know why. Looking at her work is to watch her paint. You can feel the consideration of each mark and as a result the painting is left so open to the viewer. The process is embedded in the mark.
The subtlety in the layering of nuanced color and glimpses of light through washes keep the paintings moving, like each time you look back something will be slightly different. It's kind of like the hypnotic feeling I get watching my dog sleeping, so rhythmic and steady but wonderfully and oddly captivating and alive.
Her work feels like the best of the best to me. If described to someone without the first hand experience, you might say you've seen that type of painting a million times. But this you have only seen once when you stand in front of it because every single mark is made with purpose and an honest consciousness. That is such a remarkable thing to behold.
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