Matt Cohen

Early March, Westminster West

Wire mesh, wire, etched/painted plexiglass, acrylic painted joint compound, on wood panel. 48x48” $3000.00 2023

vertical rectangular shapes with boat forms

Lamentation

28 gauge wire, acrylic paint on wire mesh etched plexiglass -on oil painted canvas, 48x48x3” $3000.00 2022

striated square on dark gray background

May 1

Wire, wire mesh, screen, etched plexiglass, acrylic paint, charcoal on paper, and photographs on joint compound painted wood panel, 50x48” $3000.00 2023.

abstracted architectural forms with linear elements

Untitled, Early April

Wire, wire mesh, screen, etched plexiglass, acrylic paint, charcoal on paper, on painted canvas, 48x48” $3000.00 2023.

dark and light gray shapes with linear elements

Untitled, May 24

Wire, wire mesh, screen, etched plexiglass, acrylic paint, charcoal on paper, and photographs on canvas, 50x43” $3000.00 2023

dark and light gray shapes with linear elements

Untitled, February 25

Wire mesh, 28 gauge wire, etched plexiglass, charcoal on paper, acrylic painted joint compound on wood panel, 48x48” $3000.00 2023.

muted dark and light forms with mesh and wire

Untitled, January 23

Wire mesh, 28 gauge wire, etched plexiglass, oil on canvas, 52x48” $3000.00 2023.

tenebrous rectangular forms interlaced with wire

Untitled, July 5

wire, wire mesh, screen, acrylic paint, charcoal on paper, on painted wood panel. 48x48inches. 2023

$2500.

Untitled, July 13

wire, wire mesh, screen, etched plexiglass, acrylic paint, charcoal on paper, on oil painted canvas. 20x16x2inches. 2023.

$1500.

Untitled, August 3

Wire, wire mesh, screen, etched plexiglass, acrylic paint, charcoal on paper, on oil painted canvas. 20x16ix2nches. 2023

These works in mixed media contain areas of layering paint, wire mesh, etched plexiglass, and sections of drawings. The thin, dark wires used to secure the screen, mesh, and plexiglass take on a life of their own; it should also be noted that this wire is attached to fencing which fastened to the perimeter of the works. These works are to be viewed frontally – as paintings – rather than as wall sculptures.

There are three things I would like to be kept in mind when viewing my work. One is the juxtaposition of time that has been addressed in much of my work. This is the juxtaposition of timelessness, or out of time experience to that of something that occurs in a moment in time; or a fleeting incident. This is sometimes referred to as classicism (the timeless) and expressionism (incident). For me, the classical is seen in rectangular or square shapes – the grid of the wire mesh and shape of the plexiglass and overall shape of the surface, as well as muted colors. The expressionistic is the quality of gestural mark making, lines and shape and sometimes more intense colors. In some of my work this is shown next to each other, but in more recent work they have become overlayed.

This leads to the second concern which is the sense of history in the making of my work; in these three-dimensional works I am able to expose earlier decision making beneath and through wire, wire mesh and plexiglass as well as in adjacent spaces. More recent work includes ripped segments (often arbitrarily so) of my drawings.

And third is the connection with some Baroque painting, such as Ribera, Rembrandt, or Zurbaran, which influence the dark recesses and overlaying of painted grids – the use of glazes by them are replaced by these screens and wire mesh. My work, Lamentation, is in direct response to Ribera’s of the same name.

Matt Cohen completed his degree in painting from the School of Visual Arts, NYC, and has an MA in art from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has been an adjunct lecturer of art history at Fitchburg State University since 2008, and lives in Vermont.

Shows and Publications

Cafe Review, quarterly journal, thecafereview.com. Vol 31, winter, 2020.

Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, the greenpointgallery.com, April, 2021 (juried)

Art Alliance of Monmouth, Red Bank, NJ. April, 2021 (juried)

Long Beach Island Foundation, Loveladies, NJ. July-August, 2021 (juried). Honorable Mention.

64 Arts, Buchanan Center for the Arts, Monmouth, Ill. September, 2021 (juried)

Exhibizone, online exhibit. September, 2021 (juried)

Exhibizone, Nuditas, online exhibit October 9 - November 9, 2021 (juried)

Site:Brooklyn, online mixed media exhibit, April 22-May22 , 2022(juried)

HMVC, NYC, online Oct 1 - Oct 30, 2022 (juried).

Anchor House of Artists, Northampton, MA., Nov.5-Nov30, 2022.

Viridian Artists, Inc., NYC,, January, 2023, Director’s Choice online - physical exhibit, April - May, Chelsea.

Gallerium.art, Ontario, online exhibit, March 2023.(juried)