ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My motivation for making art is rooted in my childhood where I felt very much at ease in the private, inner world of creating things. What began as a happy refuge developed into a vehicle for self discovery. After earning my degree in fine art, I gradually transitioned from realism to abstraction as I discovered a preference for expressing the inner world as opposed to depicting the outer world.

I make my art by paying close attention to what is driving me at that particular moment; usually it is an inspiration born out of some form of tension, either internal or external. Internal tension, for example, arises from the conflict between feeling stagnated and a need to grow. External tension drives me when I see something in the world such as a color relationship or other visual stimulation and feel compelled to act on it. Then I imagine how to make those thoughts or feelings tangible with paint, paper, found objects, and any material that feels consistent with what I’m trying to say.

Color is all-important to me as I feel it is the most powerful visual tool for creating and conveying mood. My pieces are pre-planned only to the extent that it is necessary for problem solving and for optimal use of my materials, but never at the expense of intuition and spontaneity. For me, the experience of making art mirrors the worldly experience of daily life and can be just as varied… sometimes it is a struggle, a puzzle to be solved. Other times it flows effortlessly and feels almost mystical in nature. In art, as in life, when I get to spend time in that place of “connectedness” I am redeemed, rewarded, renewed.

-Vicki Cohen