Claire B. Cohen
Painter & Art Therapist
Landscapes
Painting the Canadian landscape and depicting images of nature, with an emphasis on basic shapes, colours and textures, served as a strong foundation for my later work. In search for a deeper spiritual meaning, nature scenes evolved into a non-representatioal form and subdued in colour. The shapes and colours express a desire to achieve balance between the forces of passion and reason.
Flowers
In my compartmental series, a number of canvases were connected sequentially in a zigzag form using piano hinges. This pieces can be viewed in 3-D, hung flat on the wall, or hung from the ceiling. This allows for flexibility of movement and a continuous flow of the image passing from one panel to the next, providing information in a suggestive manner. Other related paintings in this series express a similar idea, created in a two dimensional space.
Compartmentals
Portraits
A study of the human face led to these series of portraits.
Two years were invested in carefully selected portraits drawn in black and white on paper, followed by paintings in color on canvas.
This quote by an unknown artist expresses my view of what a portrait art means to me.
" A human face is also an object of nature,
A landscape of live tissues.
To evoke aesthetic feeling, it must point
At something beyond itself, in the beholder's mind. "
Multimedia Collages
In these pieces, shapes and colors developed to achieve balance in the composition. Non-objective and non-figurative imagery became the focus. As my work of abstraction evolved, it guided me towards achieving defined forms that created dynamic relationships between them and ultimately appeared in a pleasing compositions.
In the collage work I tried to reconstruct new forms born from previously colored shapes. This process led to the creation of new ideas which conformed with the composition.
Semi-Abstract
This body of work evolved as a stream of consciousness that reflects the evolution of the transformed image. Our inner world of images, thoughts and memories shift continuously, and evoke a rich texture of feelings, emotions and moods. In this work, ideas come to focus and expressed themselves in a semi-abstract style of form, colour and texture.
Music
I volunteered for the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in the summer of 2005 and 2006. I was greatly inspired by the music. This is reflected in my work in this series of paintings. My use of colour became more vibrant and intense.
