Alex Bradley Cohen
About:
Paintings by Alex Bradley Cohen investigate identity through a spectrum of cultural, spiritual and political experiences. Influenced by tropes and techniques found in traditional figure painting, Cohen composes new canvases from scumbling brushstrokes alongside flat, planar forms. Emphasizing color, pattern and shape, Cohen paints his own psychological and autobiographical truths. Existential studies of self commingle with playful portraits of family and tableaus from African American history, folding the artist’s own narrative into a larger history. (website gallery Carrie Secrist, Chicago)
“My art is an extension of myself. It is everything I see and feel in the world. It is my play, it i sky diary, it is my friend. It is a ritual that is part of my existence.
My art is narrative. My art is abstract.
I go about making art the same way a kid would stroll through the park. I collect visual objects, emotions, ideas and feelings throughout the day. With this collection of information, I begin to create a narrative for the world around me.
2 minded, 2014.
I like working in water-based mediums, finding that accessible materials bring me much pleasure. I like painting pictures of my friends, family, sitcoms and historical events. I also like drawing and playing with ceramics. Through these mediums, I explore abstraction. Abstraction allows for play as well as a new world my narrations can exist.”