FIGURES Charles Cohen
production by Charles Cohen US, 2014 time: 1'
Synopsis: The tenuous relationship between subject and object, perceiver and perceived, expectation and satisfaction drive the investigation in “Figures.” This 1 minute video features visual dramatizations of how the things we need are supposed to work paired with voices enumerating a false progress. The audio is appropriated from a different source and the images don’t correspond to a specific number, yet there is a parallel crescendo from abstract bits and particles to recognizable parts of and finally the whole human body. However, confronted with a lack of meaningful correspondence, we expect/want the sexy animation to be a payload even though by definition it can’t be: the nature of a cure for existence can’t be burdened with how or how much.
Biography: Currently represented by Bonni Benrubi Gallery in New York, Genovese/Sullivan in Boston, Imago Galleries in Palm Desert, and LUMAS in Berlin, Charles Cohen participated in the Core Fellowship program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston after earning his MFA in photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to traditional photography Cohen uses video, digital imaging and sculpture to explore various aspects of a central theme—the conflation of opposites. Cohen finds or applies abstraction to mundane subjects provoking the viewer to complete the meaning of a piece. As in his"Yank", “Figures” and “The Way It Was” videos, Cohen confronts us with an unpacked and relayered perceptual experience that renders us engaged and reflexive. Cohen’s work has been exhibited in New York, Paris, Boston, Houston, San Francisco, Portland, Lisbon, Berlin and Miami. It can be seen in two popular books: "Digital Art" by Christiane Paul published by Thames & Hudson, and "CURVE: The Female Nude Now" by Dailey Meghan et al, published by Rizzoli, as well as two recently released books, “100 New York Photographers” by Cynthia Dantzic, and “Art/Porn: A History of Seeing and Touching” by Kelly Dennis. Cohen's work is in the collections of The Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Portland Art Museum in Oregon among other institutions.
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