Artist Statement: The etchings in this series are based on the 17th century emblem book. The Renaissance emblem book presented engravings of familiar elements and scenarios in association with a common saying, intended to invoke meanings with a particular lesson in mind. In this tradition, my images are combined with Latin aphorisms to create a web of analogies, associations, and implications on different elements of the universe, guiding the mind to often to simultaneously different and usually contradictory levels of meaning within a somewhat rigid, schematic spatial setting. This work is about the process by which we see, acquire, and possess things, and what they mean to us, in their variety and complexity, beauty and presence.
BRIAN D. COHEN is a printmaker, painter, educator, and writer. In 1989 he founded Bridge Press to further the association and integration of visual image, original text, and book structure. Artist’s books and prints by Brian D. Cohen have been shown in over forty individual exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Fresno Art Museum, and in over 200 group shows. Cohen’s books and etchings are held by major private and public collections throughout the country. He was first-place winner of major international print competitions in San Diego, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. His essays on the arts and education are a feature of Art in Print magazine and the Arts and Culture section of the Huffington Post.
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