Visual

From Issue I (2016): Brian D. Cohen

Tree Trunk I (Willow) Relief etching with watercolor, 8 x 6 in., 2011 — Tree Trunk I (Willow)
*Relief etching with watercolor, 8 x 6 in., 2011*

I embrace themes of loss, futility, destruction, and unexpected, redemptive beauty, themes tied to the tradition of printmaking, whose imagery has always tended toward critical commentary and serious contemplation, and often toward humor and irony.

Tree Trunk II (Douglas Fir) Etching, 9 x 6 in., 2015 — Tree Trunk II (Douglas Fir)
*Etching, 9 x 6 in., 2015*

The process of etching is physical and elemental, requiring force and pressure, inviting aggression and then delicacy, conjoining fire, water, earth, and air.

Tree Trunk III (Maple) Etching, 9 x 6 in., 2015 — Tree Trunk III (Maple)
*Etching, 9 x 6 in., 2015*

There is something about setting an image into metal that implies permanence, duration, and enduring presence, and I hope my images mirror the medium in that sense.

Tree Trunk IV (Douglas Fir) Etching, 9 x 6 in., 2015 — Tree Trunk IV (Douglas Fir)
*Etching, 9 x 6 in., 2015*

Brian D. Cohen

Brian D. Cohen’s artist’s books and prints have been shown in forty individual exhibitions, including a retrospective in 1997 at the Fresno Art Museum, and he has participated in over 150 group shows. Cohen’s books and etchings are held by major private and public collections throughout the country, including The New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the Philadelphia and Portland (Oregon) Museums of Art, as well as the United States Ambassador’s residence in Egypt. He was the first-place winner of major international print competitions in San Diego, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.