Ezra Cohen
Available Works
Archived Works
For its final Witney Gallery show of the year, Meller Merceux is pleased to introduce the work of Oxfordshire-based artist Ezra F. Cohen. In a series of paintings that range from contemporary Expressionism to fully abstract compositions, Cohen explores his passion for landscape and the subjective expression of his encounters with the natural world. Cohen’s work often stems from a particular incident or singular experience, which he then conveys as an emotional state rather than any representational depiction. What matters to the artist is the transmission of emotion and his use of emphatic and dramatic colour is part of this process.
Some of the points of departure for Cohen’s forest landscapes are personal experiences that took place amongst the wild forests and lakes of North Eastern Poland. When camping next to a lake near the city of Białystok, which is located on the Podlaskie Plain on the border with Belarus, Cohen went for an evening walk with his partner. As they moved through the moonlit forest, which was bathed in such vibrant illumination that the trees still cast shadows, the artist was suddenly knocked to the ground. Out of nowhere, a startled wolf had physically thrown the artist off his feet as it escaped back into the darkness of the forest. Such an experience is surely as terrifying as it is exhilarating. In Cohen’s case it provided inspiration for many of his singularly expressive images of forests, with their emotional surges of colour and underlying organic textures. Cohen seeks to capture moments of exhilaration in his work, yet also manages to present them as tranquil instances, where he acknowledges the wildness of the forest yet recognises a kind of ‘clearing’ within it that is loaded with mystery.
The second related incident is even stranger than the last. It serves to further contextualise Cohen’s approach to landscape, abstraction and colour. During a separate visit to the same forest region of Poland, the artist again went out for a walk, this time alone and in the early hours of the morning. A low mist had dispersed through the trees, cutting many of the trunks in half, adding to a spectral, gothic atmosphere throughout the landscape. After walking for almost an hour, in a place he had assumed to be many miles from human activity, Cohen suddenly began to hear music. Somewhere, another person (no doubt a fellow forest walker or an individual who had chosen to camp in the depths of the forest) was whistling a melody that Cohen recognised. It was a theme written by the Italian composer Ennio Morricone for the celebrated 1986 film The Mission, directed by Roland Joffé. Anyone familiar with the film, as Cohen was, would know that this particular musical theme occurs at a pivotal moment in the plot. The story traces the experience of a Jesuit missionary in 18th Century South America, who is in the deep jungle to build a mission and convert a Guaraní community to Christianity. Early on in the film, Father Gabriel (played by Jeremy Irons) climbs above the perilous Iguazu Falls to make contact with the isolated tribe after news that a previous missionary has been killed by being thrown over the falls tied to a cross. Sitting in the depths of the jungle, Father Gabriel calmly plays his oboe and the Guaraní warriors are captivated by the music. They allow the priest to live and eventually become receptive to his teachings. Another kind of revelatory moment accompanied Cohen’s own strange variation on this scenario. At exactly the moment when the Morricone melody sounded in the forest, a herd of deer rushed by, appearing suddenly from the early morning mist. This kind of encounter with the wildness of nature, which is nonetheless announced by or connected to human civilisation (as symbolised by the music), again touches on the themes of Cohen’s work: nature’s imposing scale and beauty rendered as vaguely threatening yet essentially life-affirming.
Ezra F. Cohen’s approach to painting has recognisable connections with many traits of Expressionist art, whilst at the same time being without direct precedent. His use of symmetrical composition and tree symbolism suggests similarities with certain works by the Norwegian symbolist painter Edvard Munch, whilst his use of colour and materials echoes elements in the work of Vincent Van Gogh – both direct influences on the Expressionist movement. A more immediate comparison can be drawn to the work of Expressionist painter Emil Nolde, particularly his watercolour landscapes from the 1950s. Expressionism first emerged in the early 20th Century, largely as a counter to the popular Impressionist style still dominant in European art. It was also an extension of the Post-Impressionist movement that came afterwards. Instead of trying to effectively render surface effects and the play of light, the Expressionist artists were concerned with presenting their own individual, highly subjective perspectives on the world, freely distorting their subjects for emotional and meaningful effect. Colour use was massively intensified and non-naturalistic, the brushwork much looser and more obviously gestural. The style emerged mainly in Germany and Austria but drew inspiration from various sources. The Expressionist movement also incorporated a number of artist groups, including the influential Die Brücke [The Bridge] and Die Blaue Reiter [The Blue Rider] collectives. The influence of Expressionism has extended through art history. It can be seen in the work of extremely diverse artists, including Egon Schiele, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. Much of the style and approach of these movements is still relevant to artists working today and the popular revivalist style of New Expressionism, which emerged in the 1980s, continues to be led by artists such as Anselm Kiefer.
Cohen is also engaged with his own approach to Abstract Expressionism and many of his paintings take shape as a result of unpredictable material processes. Fluid interactions of paint layers produce random configurations that are subsequently developed into or annotated by recognisable forms. Elemental shapes transform into receding horizon lines; organic patterns cohere into lines of trees or the edges of forests. It is as if Cohen’s landscapes had been born from fire or magnified cellular activity. Such dramatic and dynamic forms also relate to geological processes, echoing the stratifications of rock and great heaves of lava. What results is often a sense of order or recognition emerging from an underlying
chaos. Yet these chemical reactions are nonetheless contained and controlled. Instead of the thick texture and impasto seen in many Expressionist works, Cohen’s paintings (all oil on canvas) are finished with a glossy sheen, almost like stained glass. The paintings become both oddly resistant and reflective, which somehow adds to their luminosity.
The work of Ezra F. Cohen touches on a number of styles and incorporates vastly different approaches to materials. Yet his is a coherent body of work focused on an expressive engagement with the natural landscape. His technical versatility is evident in his manipulation of purely abstract canvases and the subtle incorporation of representational motifs. The paintings create an environment that activates the viewer’s imagination, allowing them to impart their own associations and memories onto the work. Cohen’s juxtaposition of experiences – both exhilarating and awe-inspiring – taps into our universal emotions. His evocative works have proven extremely popular with collectors and Meller Merceux is excited to see what impact his work will have during this first major solo show.
