Sorel Cohen

Last updated
Sorel Cohen
Born1936
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Education Concordia University
Movement conceptual art, feminist art
AwardsDuke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography, 1988
Website https://sorel-cohen.squarespace.com/

Sorel Cohen is a Canadian photographer and visual artist currently living and working in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was represented by Donald Browne Gallery in Montreal until the gallery closed its doors in 2016. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Sorel Cohen was born in 1936, in Montreal, Quebec, to parents of Ukrainian and Polish descent. Cohen pursued post-secondary education in Montreal, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 1974, as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in 1979. [3] Her Masters thesis examined feminist influences on art in the 1970s, [4] and her work has continued to be shaped by her feminist values. [5]

Style

Sorel Cohen has worked extensively with portraiture, both behind and in front of the camera. The majority of her work has a focus on both autobiographical works as well as feminist works. In the 1970s, Cohen began experimenting by combining photography with performance art, which was a relatively new idea at the time and soon became known for this. [6] Cohen often combines the use of this performance art with a slow shutter speed, creating a blurred aesthetic. By displaying these photographs in a series, the viewer feels a sense of time passing through them. Cohen draws inspiration from all forms of art, from painting to sculpture, to performance in her photographic work. Although Cohen's work comes from personal experience, she gives her photographs a quality that allows for interpretation, giving them an almost universal meaning. [7] Cohen has produced an extensive collection of work that comes from a perspective of psychoanalysis. [8]

Influences

Photographic themes

Feminism

Cohen’s feminist stance in her art was triggered by an interview between Lucy Lippard and Judy Chicago which she read in Artforum . She explains in her master’s thesis: “I realized then, that if I was going to be making artworks for the rest of my life it had better have something to do with me as a person, and in particular, as a woman.” [10] Cohen used photography to combat stereotypes of women, as well as subvert society's beliefs around a what a woman's role is. By placing herself both behind and in front of the camera, Cohen presents a commentary on the representation of women in these roles. [3]

Absence and psychoanalysis

A published book featuring her work Divans maudits (with a text by Gérard Wacjman) shows how Cohen was strongly influenced by psychoanalytical perspectives. Some her most well-known work features primarily empty beds and couches. The photographs carry another strong theme that is found in many of Cohen’s works as well, the theme/idea of absence. By photographing these empty couches and beds, objects that are primarily only seen as important when they are full of people or things, Cohen aims to capture what is missing. [8]

Notable works and collections

The Grid (1975-1976)

This series of muslin sculptures echoes the grid as an emblem of modernism. [11] The handcrafted quality of the fabric sculptures however recalls traditional women's work and defies the modernist and masculine pursuit of uniformity and repetition. [12] From the sculptures in The Grid series, the artist also creates contact prints on canvas using techniques such as cyanotype and Van Dyke brown. When sewn together, these prints replicate the sculptural works in a 1:1 scale, resembling a "shadow". [13] This series thus marks a transition between the artist's sculptural and photographic practice.

Le rite matinal (1977)

In 1977, Cohen begins a series of works (color photographs, video, cyanotypes) based on the action of making a bed. [14] Among these, the series of photographs Le rite matinal shows the artist performing this action repeatedly in front of the camera with an impression of movement obtained by a slow shutter speed and a long exposure time. By performing this banal action in front of the camera, the artist links women's domestic work with their artistic work, often neglected in art history. [15]

The Shape of a Gesture (1978)

The series The Shape of a Gesture (originally titled Domestic Activity as Painterly Gesture [14] ) shows the artist in action as she cleans a window with a colored cloth. This work refers to abstract expressionist painting by substituting the flat surface of the painting with that of the window and subverting the painterly gesture through a domestic activity traditionally reserved for women. [16]

After Bacon / Muybridge (1980)

In After Bacon / Muybridge, Cohen looks at the work of painter Francis Bacon (artist) and uses photographic methods, such as long exposure and slow shutter speed to achieve a blurred effect. In this collection, Cohen also references the work of Eadweard Muybridge, who pioneered the study of motion in photography. Cohen appropriates these works from major male figures in art history from a feminist perspective in a way that is reminiscent of the conceptual work of Sherrie Levine around the same time. [17]

An Extended and Continuous Metaphor (1983-1986)

With the series An Extended and Continuous Metaphor, Cohen abandons the sequential or grid form in favor of hierarchically organized polyptychs, some reminiscent of Flemish altarpieces. [18] The photographs show the artist simultaneously performing the roles of artist, model, and viewer through multiple exposures in an all-black space. This non-space refers to an idealized conception of the artist's studio: to that effect, the title of the series alludes to the painting The Painter's Studio: A real allegory summing up seven years of my artistic and moral life by Gustave Courbet (1855). [11]

Wounds of Experience (1995–1996)

This collection features a series of nine photographs exploring themes of absence and the relationship between psychoanalyst and patient, through depictions of psychoanalyst offices. [8]

Divans Dolorosa (2008)

This collection features photographs of empty psychoanalyst consultation rooms of in Quebec. The focus of these photographs are the empty couches (or divans), allowing Cohen to present the idea of absence as something that is wholly present in the scene. Like Wounds of Experience this series is characterized by the inclusion of text, with words inscribed below each of the photographs referring to different symptoms as described by psychoanalysts. [19]

Lacrimosa (2010)

Presented as a sequel to Divans Dolorosa, this collection features photographs of handkerchiefs with psychoanalytical descriptions attached to them. [20]

Exhibitions

Sorel Cohen has had her work exhibited both nationally and internationally over the past three decades. Her work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions. [3]

Solo exhibitions

Canada

YearGalleryCity
1977Galerie Mira GodardMontreal, Quebec
1979Nova GalleryVancouver, British Columbia
1980Eye Level GalleryHalifax, Nova Scotia
Mercer Union Toronto, Ontario
1981 Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's UniversityKingston, Ontario
1983Galerie OpticaMontreal, Quebec
S.L. Simpson GalleryToronto, Ontario
1984 Southern Alberta Art Gallery Lethbridge, Alberta
1986 Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal Montreal, Quebec
1987 Presentation House Gallery North Vancouver, British Columbia
1988Toronto Photographer's WorkshopToronto, Ontario
1989 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1990DazibaoMontreal, Quebec
1991 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1992Galerie Samuel LallouzMontreal, Quebec
1993 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Galerie VuQuebec, Quebec
1996Galerie Samuel LallouzMontreal, Quebec
1997 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1999La TranchefileMontreal, Quebec
2000The Koffler GalleryToronto, Ontario
2004DazibaoMontreal, Quebec
2008, 2010Galerie Donald BrowneMontreal, Quebec
2021 VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine Montréal, Québec

International

YearGalleryCity/Country
198149th ParallelNew York, New York, US
1983Institute for Art and Urban Resources, MoMA PS1 New York, New York, US
1984Services culturels du QuebecParis, France
1985Northlight Gallery, Arizona State UniversityTempe, Arizona, US
1994Les Ateliers NadarMarseilles, France
2003Centre culturel canadienParis, France

Group exhibitions

Canada

YearExhibitionGalleryCity
1973Les moins de 35 ansSaidye Bronfman Centre / Galerie de la SAPQ / Casa Loma / Galerie Espace / Média-Gravures / Musée du Québec / Pavillon Pierre-Boucher, UQTR Montréal / Quebec / Trois-Rivières, Quebec
1975ARTFEMME'75Saidye Bronfman Centre / Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal / Powerhouse Montreal, Quebec
1982Art et féminisme Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal Montreal, Quebec
1983Photographie actuelle au QuébecSaidye Bronfman CentreMontreal, Quebec
1984L'Art pensé, Congrés international d'esthétique Université de Montréal Montreal, Quebec
Edge and Image Concordia University Art GalleryMontreal, Quebec
Production and Axis of Sexuality Walter Phillips Gallery Banff, Alberta
Reflections National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario
1986Songs of Experience National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario
1989Taking Pictures Presentation House Gallery North Vancouver, British Columbia
Le geste oublié Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal Montreal, Quebec
IncorporationGalerie d'art LavalinMontreal, Quebec
1989-1990The Zone of Conventional Practice and Other Real StoriesGalerie OpticaMontreal, Quebec (travelling)
1991Un archipel de désir: les artistes du Québec et la scene internationale Musée du Québec Quebec, Quebec
Practicing Beauty Art Gallery of Hamilton Hamilton, Ontario
1992Exposition rétrospectiveGalerie OpticaMontreal, Quebec
1993The Historic FemaleGalerie 111Montreal, Quebec
Empowering the WorldCarleton University Art GalleryOttawa, Ontario
1994Quotation Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contemporary Canadian WorksThe Art Gallery of North YorkToronto, Ontario
1996Found Missing: Archival Photographs and the New HistoricityGallery 44Toronto, Ontario
1997Here's Looking at Me KidArt Gallery of North YorkToronto, Ontario
1998The Word in ArtArt Gallery of North YorkToronto, Ontario
2012Art Histories [21] VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine Montreal, Quebec
2016-2017Elles Photographes Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Montreal, Quebec
2017Photography in Canada: 1960–2000 [22] National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario

International

YearExhibitionGalleryCity/Country
1983New Images: Contemporary Quebec Photography49th Parallel GalleryNew York, New York, US
1985Visual Facts: Photography and Video by Nine Canadian Artists Third Eye Centre Glasgow, Scotland (travelling)
198650 Years of Modern Colour Photography, 1936-1986 Photokina Cologne, Germany
Doppleganger/CoverAorta GalleryAmsterdam, Holland
1987FiguresThe Cambridge DarkroomEngland (travelling)
1989Montréal '89CREDACIvry-sur-Seine, France
1990OdalesqueJayne Baum GalleryNew York, New York, US
1991The Photographic Image: Photo-Based Works49th Parallel GalleryNew York, New York, US
1997a little object Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research London, England
Virtue and Vice: Derivations of Allegory in Contemporary PhotographyInternational Photography Research; Site Gallery Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Sheffield, England (travelling)
2008Wild Signals Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart Stuttgart, Germany

[23] [3] [20] [24]

Awards

Sorel Cohen was awarded the prestigious Duke and Duchess of York Photography Prize, by the Canada Council in 1988. [4]

Sorel Cohen has been a member of various arts councils throughout her career. Most notably the Canada Council for the Arts, from 1990-1997. Cohen was also Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec in 1992. From 1979-1989 Cohen was a member of the Board of Directors for the Galerie Optica in Montreal. [23] Cohen has been a guest lecturer at various Canadian Universities. [25]

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References

  1. ↑ "Sorel Cohen - Biography".
  2. ↑ "Le Belgo perd un autre espace". Le Devoir (in French). 20 January 2016. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sorel Cohen". Canadian Artists of Eastern European Origin: An Introductory Guide. Concordia University. 1998.
  4. 1 2 "Sorel Cohen".
  5. ↑ Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy G. (2013). North American women artists of the twentieth century : a biographical dictionary. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-315-05168-0. OCLC   1086457528.
  6. ↑ "Galerie La Castiglione".
  7. ↑ Cook, Sharon Anne; McLean, Lorna R.; O'Rourke, Kate, eds. (2001). Framing Our Past: Canadian Women's History in the Twentieth Century. Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp.  70–71. ISBN   0-7735-2172-0.
  8. 1 2 3 Cohen, Sorel; Wajcman, Gerard (2003). Divans Maudits. Paris: Centre Culturel Canadien. ISBN   1-896940-26-9.
  9. 1 2 3 "La pionnière Sorel Cohen enfin saluée". Le Devoir (in French). 26 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  10. ↑ Tuer, Dot (2022). "The Haunting of Memory in the Photographic Practice of Sorel Cohen". Sorel Cohen: Conceptual Metaphors. Montreal: VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine. p. 133. ISBN   9782981878410.
  11. 1 2 Graham, Robert (1986). "Veiled Relations: The Fabric of Sorel Cohen's Work". Sorel Cohen… et les ateliers de femmes (où se jouent les regards). Montreal: Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. p. 27.
  12. ↑ "Sorel Cohen at VOX, Centre de l'Image Contemporaine". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  13. ↑ Roger, Claudine (2022). "Bio-bibliography". Sorel Cohen: Conceptual Metaphors. Montreal: VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine. p. 158. ISBN   9782981878410.
  14. 1 2 Lang Rosenberg, Avis (1979). "Sorel Cohen, Nova Gallery, Vancouver, October 2 to 20". Vanguard. 8, 10: 26–27.
  15. ↑ "Richard Rhodes on Sorel Cohen". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  16. ↑ Cohen, Sorel (1979). "Sorel Cohen". The Winnipeg Perspective 1979. Photo/Extended Dimensions : Barbara Astman, Sorel Cohen, Suzy Lake, Arnaud Maggs, Ian Wallace. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery. p. 14.
  17. ↑ Jean, Marie J. (2022). "To Show a Doing". Sorel Cohen: Conceptual Metaphors. Montreal: VOX, centre de l'image contemporaine. p. 40. ISBN   9782981878410.
  18. ↑ Nemiroff, Diana (2005). "Performances for the Camera: Montreal and Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s". Point and Shoot: Performance and Photography. Montreal: Dazibao. p. 49.
  19. ↑ "Württ. Kunstverein Stuttgart: Wild Signals - Works".
  20. 1 2 "SOREL COHEN @ donald browne".
  21. ↑ "Art Histories - (Re)formulating art history's narratives". VOX. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  22. ↑ "Sorel Cohen, Suzy Lake and Susan McEachern in Conversation".
  23. 1 2 "Sorel Cohen". Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  24. ↑ "Württ. Kunstverein Stuttgart: Wild Signals".
  25. ↑ "Sorel Cohen".
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