Joseph Cohen

Gallery Affiliations: Wade Wilson Art

Region: West

I classify myself as a “concrete painter,” meaning that I do not attempt to abstract or represent anything from the physical world. The “propositions” that I offer are philosophical inquiries into both the nature of painting and human perception. I employ the Geometrical Method of philosophy in titling my works, to set a framework and to give the viewer an entry point. I am ultimately concerned with the paintings’ ability to alter perception as the viewers’ perspective changes. Incorporating interference pigments and precious metals in layers of paint, the works shift in chroma and brightness as the viewers change position. The transformations in chroma from top to bottom are related to the physicality of the built-up paint around the planar support’s perimeter. It is the dueling nature inherent in the medium, as well as the Apollonian and Dionysian struggle within the act of painting, that stimulates my investigation.