Sorel Cohen

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

Sorel Cohen
Born
Sorel Cohen

1936 (age 83–84)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
OccupationPhotographer
Years activemid 1970s - present

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
YearGalleryCity
1977Galerie Mia GodardMontreal, Quebec
1979Nova GalleryVancouver, British Columbia
1980Eye Level GalleryHalifax, Nova Scotia
Mercer UnionToronto, Ontario
1981Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's UniversityKingston, Ontario
1983Galerie OpticaMontreal, Quebec
S.L. Simpson GalleryToronto, Ontario
1984Southern Alberta Art GalleryLethbridge, Alberta
1986Musee d'art contemporain de MontrealMontreal, Quebec
1987Presentation House GalleryNorth Vancouver, British Columbia
1988Toronto Photographer's WorkshopToronto, Ontario
1989Wynick/Tuck GalleryToronto, Ontario
1990DazibaoMontreal, Quebec
1991Wynick/Tuck GalleryToronto, Ontario
1992Galerie Samuel LallouzMontreal, Quebec
1993Wynick/Tuck GalleryToronto, Ontario
Galerie VuQuebec, Quebec
1996Galerie Samuel LallouzMontreal, Quebec
1997Wynick/Tuck GalleryToronto, Ontario
1999La TranchefileMontreal, Quebec
2000The Koffler GalleryToronto, Ontario
2004Galerie DazibaoMontreal, Quebec
2008, 2010Galerie Donald BrowneMontreal, Quebec

International
YearGalleryCity/Country
198149th ParallelNew York, New York, USA
1983Institute for Art and Urban Resources, MoMA PS1New York, New York, USA
1984Services Culturelles du QuebecParis, France
1985Northlight Gallery, Arizona State UniversityTempe, Arizona, USA
1994Les Ateliers NadarMarseilles, France
2003Centre culturel canadienParis, France

Group exhibitions

Canada
YearExhibitionGalleryCity
1983Photographie actuelle au QuébecGalerie d'art centre Saidye Bronfman/Gallery of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the ArtsMontréal, Quebec
1984L'Art pensé, Congrés international d'esthétiqueUniversité de MontréalMontreal, Quebec
Edge and ImageConcordia University Art GalleryMontreal, Quebec
Production and Axis of SexualityWalter Phillips GalleryBanff, Alberta
ReflectionsNational Gallery of CanadaOttawa, Ontario
1986Songs of ExperienceNational Gallery of CanadaOttawa, Ontario
1989Taking PicturesPresentation House GalleryNorth Vancouver, British Columbia
IncorporationGalerie d'art LavalinMontreal, Quebec
1989-1990The Zone of Conventional Practice and Other Real StoriesGalerie OpticaMontreal, Quebec (travelling)
1991Un archipel de désir: les artistes du Québec et la scene internationaleMusée du QuébecQuebec, Quebec
Practicing BeautyArt Gallery of HamiltonHamilton, Ontario
1992Exposition rétrospectiveGalerie OpticaMontreal, Quebec
1993The Historic FemaleGalerie 111Montreal, Quebec
Empowering the WorldCarleton University Art GalleryOttawa, Ontario
1994QuotationWinnipeg Art GalleryWinnipeg, Manitoba
Contemporary Canadian WorksThe Art Gallery of North YorkToronto, Ontario
1996Found Missing: Archival Photographs and the New HistoricityGallery 44Toronto, Ontario
1997Here's Looking at Me KidArt Gallery of North YorkToronto, Ontario
1998The Word in ArtArt Gallery of North YorkToronto, Ontario

International
YearExhibitionGalleryCity/Country
1983New Images: Contemporary Quebec Photography49th Parallel GalleryNew York, New York, USA
1985Visual Facts: Photography and Video by Nine Canadian ArtistsThird Eye CentreGlasgow, Scotland (travelling)
198650 Years of Modern Colour Photography, 1936-1986PhotokinaCologne, Germany
Doppleganger/CoverAorta GalleryAmsterdam, Holland
1987FiguresThe Cambridge DarkroomEngland (travelling)
1989Montréal '89CREDACIvry-sur-Seine, France
1990OdalesqueJayne Baum GalleryNew York, New York, USA
1991The Photographic Image: Photo-Based Works49th Parallel GalleryNew York, New York, USA
1997a little objectCentre for Freudian Analysis and ResearchLondon, England
Virtue and Vice: Derivations of Allegory in Contemporary PhotographyInternational Photography Research; Site GalleryAmsterdam, The Netherlands; Sheffield, England (travelling)
2008Wild SignalsWürttembergischer Kunstverein StuttgartStuttgart, 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]

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. "Sorel Cohen". Canadian Artists of Eastern European Origin: An Introductory Guide. Concordia University. 1998.
  2. "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. 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. "SOREL COHEN @ donald browne".
  10. http://www.centrevox.ca/en/artiste/sorel-cohen/
  11. "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".
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