Sorel Cohen

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Sorel Cohen
Born
Sorel Cohen

1936 (age 84–85)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
OccupationPhotographer
Years activemid 1970s - present

Sorel Cohen is a Canadian photographer and visual artist currently living and working in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

History[]

Sorel Cohen was born in 1936, in Montreal, Quebec, to parents of Russian and Polish descent. Cohen pursued post-secondary education in Montreal, graduating with Fine Art degrees from both McGill University and Concordia University. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 1974, as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in 1979.[1] Her Masters thesis examined feminist influences on art in the 1970s,[2] and her work has continued to be shaped by her feminist values.[3]

Style[]

Sorel Cohen has worked extensively with portraiture, both behind and in front of the camera. The majority of her work has a focus on both autobiographical works as well as feminist works. In the 1970s, Cohen began experimenting by combining photography with performance art, which was a relatively new idea at the time and soon became known for this.[4] Cohen often combines the use of this performance art with a slow shutter speed, creating a blurred aesthetic. By displaying these photographs in a series, the viewer feels a sense of time passing through them. Cohen draws inspiration from all forms of art, from painting to sculpture, to performance in her photographic work. Although Cohen's work comes from personal experience, she gives her photographs a quality that allows for interpretation, giving them an almost universal meaning.[5] Cohen has produced an extensive collection of work that comes from a perspective of psychoanalysis.[6]

Photographic themes[]

Feminism[]

Cohen used photography to combat stereotypes of women, as well as subvert society's beliefs around a what a woman's role is. By placing herself both behind and in front of the camera, Cohen presents a commentary on the representation of women in these roles.[1]

Absence and psychoanalysis[]

A published book featuring her work Divans Maudits (with text by Gérard Wacjman), shows how Cohen was strongly influenced by psychoanalytical perspectives. Some her most well-known work features primarily empty beds and couches. The photographs carry another strong theme that is found in many of Cohen’s works as well, the theme/idea of absence. By photographing these empty couches and beds, objects that are primarily only seen as important when they are full of people or things, Cohen aims to capture what is missing.[6]

Notable works and collections[]

Bacon / Muybridge (1980)[]

In After Bacon / Muybridge, Cohen looks at the work of painter Francis Bacon (artist) and uses photographic methods, such as long exposure and slow shutter speed to achieve a blurred effect. In this collection, Cohen also references the work of Eadweard Muybridge, who pioneered the study of motion in photography. Cohen presents these works through a lesser seen, feminist perspective.[7]

Wounds of Experience (1995–1996)[]

This collection features a series of nine photographs exploring themes of absence and the relationship between psychoanalyst and patient, through depictions of psychoanalyst offices.[6]

Divans Dolorosa (2008)[]

This collection features photographs of empty psychoanalyst consultation rooms of in Quebec. The focus of these photographs are the empty couches (or divans), allowing Cohen to present the idea of absence as something that is wholly present in the scene. Cohen examines different symptoms as described by psychoanalysts through these photographs.[8]

Lacrimosa (2010)[]

Presented as a sequel to Divans Dolorosa, this collection features photographs of handkerchiefs with psychoanalytical descriptions attached to them.[9]

Exhibitions[]

Sorel Cohen has had her work exhibited both nationally and internationally over the past three decades. Her work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions.[1] She is currently represented by Donald Browne Gallery in Montreal.[10]

Solo exhibitions[]

Canada[]

Year Gallery City
1977 Galerie Mia Godard Montreal, Quebec
1979 Nova Gallery Vancouver, British Columbia
1980 Eye Level Gallery Halifax, Nova Scotia
Mercer Union Toronto, Ontario
1981 Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University Kingston, Ontario
1983 Galerie Optica Montreal, Quebec
S.L. Simpson Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1984 Southern Alberta Art Gallery Lethbridge, Alberta
1986 Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal Montreal, Quebec
1987 Presentation House Gallery North Vancouver, British Columbia
1988 Toronto Photographer's Workshop Toronto, Ontario
1989 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1990 Dazibao Montreal, Quebec
1991 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1992 Galerie Samuel Lallouz Montreal, Quebec
1993 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
Galerie Vu Quebec, Quebec
1996 Galerie Samuel Lallouz Montreal, Quebec
1997 Wynick/Tuck Gallery Toronto, Ontario
1999 La Tranchefile Montreal, Quebec
2000 The Koffler Gallery Toronto, Ontario
2004 Galerie Dazibao Montreal, Quebec
2008, 2010 Galerie Donald Browne Montreal, Quebec

International[]

Year Gallery City/Country
1981 49th Parallel New York, New York, USA
1983 Institute for Art and Urban Resources, MoMA PS1 New York, New York, USA
1984 Services Culturelles du Quebec Paris, France
1985 Northlight Gallery, Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona, USA
1994 Les Ateliers Nadar Marseilles, France
2003 Centre culturel canadien Paris, France

Group exhibitions[]

Canada[]

Year Exhibition Gallery City
1983 Photographie actuelle au Québec Galerie d'art centre Saidye Bronfman/Gallery of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts Montréal, Quebec
1984 L'Art pensé, Congrés international d'esthétique Université de Montréal Montreal, Quebec
Edge and Image Concordia University Art Gallery Montreal, Quebec
Production and Axis of Sexuality Walter Phillips Gallery Banff, Alberta
Reflections National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario
1986 Songs of Experience National Gallery of Canada Ottawa, Ontario
1989 Taking Pictures Presentation House Gallery North Vancouver, British Columbia
Incorporation Galerie d'art Lavalin Montreal, Quebec
1989-1990 The Zone of Conventional Practice and Other Real Stories Galerie Optica Montreal, Quebec (travelling)
1991 Un archipel de désir: les artistes du Québec et la scene internationale Musée du Québec Quebec, Quebec
Practicing Beauty Art Gallery of Hamilton Hamilton, Ontario
1992 Exposition rétrospective Galerie Optica Montreal, Quebec
1993 The Historic Female Galerie 111 Montreal, Quebec
Empowering the World Carleton University Art Gallery Ottawa, Ontario
1994 Quotation Winnipeg Art Gallery Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contemporary Canadian Works The Art Gallery of North York Toronto, Ontario
1996 Found Missing: Archival Photographs and the New Historicity Gallery 44 Toronto, Ontario
1997 Here's Looking at Me Kid Art Gallery of North York Toronto, Ontario
1998 The Word in Art Art Gallery of North York Toronto, Ontario

International[]

Year Exhibition Gallery City/Country
1983 New Images: Contemporary Quebec Photography 49th Parallel Gallery New York, New York, USA
1985 Visual Facts: Photography and Video by Nine Canadian Artists Third Eye Centre Glasgow, Scotland (travelling)
1986 50 Years of Modern Colour Photography, 1936-1986 Photokina Cologne, Germany
Doppleganger/Cover Aorta Gallery Amsterdam, Holland
1987 Figures The Cambridge Darkroom England (travelling)
1989 Montréal '89 CREDAC Ivry-sur-Seine, France
1990 Odalesque Jayne Baum Gallery New York, New York, USA
1991 The Photographic Image: Photo-Based Works 49th Parallel Gallery New York, New York, USA
1997 a little object Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research London, England
Virtue and Vice: Derivations of Allegory in Contemporary Photography International Photography Research; Site Gallery Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Sheffield, England (travelling)
2008 Wild Signals Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart Stuttgart, Germany

[11][1][9][12]

Awards[]

Sorel Cohen was awarded the prestigious Duke and Duchess of York Photography Prize, by the Canada Council in 1988.[2]

Related activities[]

Sorel Cohen has been a member of various arts councils throughout her career. Most notably the Canada Council for the Arts, from 1990-1997. Cohen was also Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec in 1992. From 1979-1989 Cohen was a member of the Board of Directors for the Galerie Optica in Montreal.[11] Cohen has been a guest lecturer at various Canadian Universities.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Sorel Cohen". Canadian Artists of Eastern European Origin: An Introductory Guide. Concordia University. 1998.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sorel Cohen".
  3. ^ Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy G. (2013). North American women artists of the twentieth century : a biographical dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-05168-0. OCLC 1086457528.
  4. ^ "Galerie La Castiglione".
  5. ^ Cook, Sharon Anne; McLean, Lorna R.; O'Rourke, Kate, eds. (2001). Framing Our Past: Canadian Women's History in the Twentieth Century. Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 70–71. ISBN 0-7735-2172-0.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cohen, Sorel; Wajcman, Gerard (2003). Divans Maudits. Paris: Centre Culturel Canadien. ISBN 1-896940-26-9.
  7. ^ "After Bacon/Muybridge #3. Sorel Cohen 1979".
  8. ^ "Württ. Kunstverein Stuttgart: Wild Signals - Works".
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "SOREL COHEN @ donald browne".
  10. ^ "Sorel Cohen - Biography".
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2017-03-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Württ. Kunstverein Stuttgart: Wild Signals".
  13. ^ "Sorel Cohen".

External links[]

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