"Brian D. Cohen: Retrospective" surveys over 200 examples of the artist’s work from four decades. The 224-page book is printed by SYL L'Art Grafica in both a softbound edition for $55.00 and a signed limited run hardbound edition for $75.00 (both plus shipping). The retrospective will be ready in January 2023 and is available to preorder now at artfulbusinessadvisory@gmail.com.
In her introduction to the book, author Deborah Lee Luskin says, "Viewing these prints demands a deep look at images of objects that in their clarity and solitariness become profoundly metaphoric and spiritual. Even at third glance, these austere, still images in black and white were puzzling. I was forced to slow down, and in slowing down, I started see. I started to see the etching, relief, inversion, ink, paper and pressure used to create shade and texture as if each print had undergone a geological metamorphosis similar to the formation of the earth. By showing us the world as he sees it, Brian’s images ask us questions at the bedrock of existence: How did we arrive here? Where are we going?”
About his work, Cohen states, “I embrace themes of loss, futility, destruction, and unexpected, redemptive beauty, themes tied to the tradition of printmaking. The process of etching is physical and elemental, requiring force and pressure, inviting aggression and then delicacy, conjoining fire, water, earth, and air. There is something about setting an image into metal that implies permanence, duration, and enduring presence — a presence I hope will endure in my work.”
Brian D. Cohen is an educator, printmaker and painter. He founded Bridge Press in 1989 to further the association and integration of visual image, original text, and book structure. Artist’s books and prints by Brian D. Cohen have been shown in over forty individual exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Fresno Art Museum, and in over 200 group shows.
Contributors:
Dr. Sura Levine is Professor Emerita of Art History. Levine has published essays and catalogue entries for museum exhibitions and scholarly journals in the United States and Europe. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Deborah Lee Luskin is a writer, editor, speaker, radio commentator. and educator. Luskin has been writing about Vermont life, past and present, since relocating from New York City in 1984. Her stories and essays have been featured in many publications.
Helen Whybrow is an as an educator, farmer, and writer. Helen was the publisher of Countryman Press and editor for Orion Magazine and Milkweed Editions before founding the Center for Whole Communities, a nationally recognized place of learning and change-making. She is the author of two books, editor of several anthologies, and contributor to literary journals.
