New York, NY- Space 776 is pleased to present a solo exhibition by New York City-based mixed-media artist Rachel Gisela Cohen. The exhibition features Cohen’s recent works created from 2019 onwards. 

 

The understory is an in-between rainforest layer with a damp and dark environment that rivals the bright outer canopy and foundational forest floor. In Cohen’s work a variety of materials including flashe paint, sequined fabric, recycled beads, and faux crocodile skin come together to create a theatrical and playful world; one that expresses Cohen’s fascination with beauty as well as her criticism of excess in contemporary culture.

 

Cohen draws references from aposematic organisms she observed in the Costa Rican rainforest as well as from drag and theater culture. Her collages of bold colors and decorative materials creates a composition made in response to her personal memories and experiences. As a whole, Rachel Gisela Cohen’s sequin-encrusted chromatic abstract paintings become an ecosystem of their own where a metamorphosis of various forms takes place. Relying on the unexpected coupling of paint and fabric, Rachel Gisela Cohen creates a hybrid medium that comments on the coexistence of natural and man-made environments.