Janie Cohen | Clothwork Assemblage
September 6-October 5 | Opening reception: Friday, September 6, 5-7 PM
E.N. Wennberg Gallery
The work in this exhibition reflects Janie Cohen’s continuing exploration of what it means to work with a medium that physically embodies personal and cultural histories. She is drawn by the element of poignancy and cultural information contained in old cloth, seeking to honor its origins and meaning without sentimentality or appropriation. Formalism remains a guiding framework in her work; three of the large, recent works exhibited here – Bluegold, Desiderium, and Four Centuries of Handwork – began as color studies, each evolving its own focus based in the cloth used.
Biography
Janie Cohen makes hand-sewn works assembled from unusual historical, vintage, and contemporary cloth she has collected over many years, as well as assemblage works with cloth and other materials. Cohen has worked in this medium since college, alongside a career as a museum curator and director (Fleming Museum of Art, UVM), and Picasso scholar. She received her MA at NYU’s Institute of Fine Art, putting artmaking on hold while establishing her museum career. After carrying out her artistic practice privately for many years, since 2016 her work has been exhibited in eleven exhibitions in New England, including three solo exhibitions. Her work is in private collections throughout the country.
