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Dallas Art Fair /  by kimcogan



Dallas Art Fair
Gallery Henoch, G12
April 13 - 15, 2012

www.dallasartfair.com

Gallery Henoch will be participating in the Dallas Art Fair. They will be located at space G12, April 13 - 15, 2012. Come visit and see my newest painting, "Entrance."

The Dallas Art Fair is located inside FIG (Fashion Industry Gallery)
1807 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX.


Entrance, 2012
42" X 32"
oil on canvas

Gallery Henoch
555 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
tel: 917.305.0003
email: Info@galleryhenoch.com
www.galleryhenoch.com




Old Chinatown /  by kimcogan


This is a painting over another painting I had started long ago. Learning from my previous mistakes, I quickly established the composition with large overall shapes and contrast within the 1st session which lacked in the painting before.

Old Chinatown, 2012
36" X 18"
oil on canvas

Resolve: A Group Show /  by kimcogan


American Dream, 2012
36" X 24"
oil on canvas

Resolve

January 26 - February 25, 2012.

Opening reception: January 26th 6 - 9pm.

Joshua Liner Gallery
548 West 28th Street, 3rd floor,
New York, NY 10001
tel. 212.244.7415
email: info@joshualinergallery.com

www.joshualinergallery.com

Joshua Liner Gallery is presenting Resolve, an exhibition of 25 emerging and established artists whose work is rooted in classical art traditions and training. In rendering the figure, still life, or landscape subject, this group (22 painters, two sculptors, and one photographer) expresses a collective interest in classical art forms with a variety of distinct and decidedly contemporary voices. Resolve is organized by gallery artist Tony Curanaj and features -

Steven Assael, Shawn Barber, Kim Cogan, Jacob Collins, Tony Curanaj, Christopher Gallego, Michael Grimaldi, Jefferson Hayman, David Kassan, Kris Kuksi, Brad Kunkle, Rob Leecock, Kate Lehman, Kris Lewis, Jeremy Mann, Edward Minoff, Lee Misenheimer, Graydon Parrish, Jacob A. Pfeiffer, Travis Schlaht, Shawn Smith, Dan Thompson, Scott Waddell, Anthony Waichulis, Will Wilson

“This exhibition of colleagues and influences reflects a relatively narrow but varied slice of the art world, and presents it to an audience that may not be exposed to this segment of contemporary art practice. The title Resolve speaks of their determination and progression, qualities that imbue each of these works with beauty and technical virtuosity. From concept to execution, these contemporary masters of their craft are completely engaged in the artist’s process and an artistic direction that is unwavering, regardless of fashion or trend.”

- Tony Curanaj, Curator/Artist.

Events This Week /  by kimcogan


I have been invited as a guest speaker to visit Laguna College of Art + Design.

November 17, 2011. 11:30am Studio 9, Main Campus.

www.lcad.edu/


I will be doing a lecture/demonstration in the 4-day Massive Black San Francisco Workshop along with many other talented artists working in the entertainment industry. If you are an artist interested in improving your skills and making a career in the arts, please come join us!

November 19 - 22nd, 2011.

Somarts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Streeet
San Francisco, CA

www.massiveblackworkshop.com/


The Safehouse Show Three: The Humble Show

November 20th, 2011. 7 - 10pm

80 Langton
San Francisco, CA

The Safehouse Studios

Solo Exhibition at Gallery Henoch /  by kimcogan

September 22 - October 15, 2011.

Thank you everyone for coming out and making the show so memorable. I was overwhelmed by the support, and feel very fortunate to participate in the NY art world. It was great to meet new faces and see familiar ones.

The show hangs until October 15th. A brochure is available. For more information about the paintings, please contact info@galleryhenoch.com.


































Solo Exhibition /  by kimcogan



My third solo exhibition will be opening at Gallery Henoch in New York City, September 22, 2011. I hope you will be able to join me at the opening. RSVP on facebook.

New Paintings
September 22 - October 15, 2011.

Opening Reception September 22nd, 6 - 8pm.

Gallery Henoch

555 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
tel: 917.305.0003
email: Info@galleryhenoch.com

www.galleryhenoch.com

Kim Cogan paints city scenes that explore the relationship between interior and exterior spaces, between structured and natural forms, between individuals and their connection to the surroundings.

Cogan’s paintings transform our way of seeing. In his luminous cityscapes and in the temperament of his interiors, he balances the representational with the abstract. Cogan uses subtle gradations of color and sharp contrast of detail to guide the eye around various shapes and composition. The brushstrokes are left fresh, describing rather than defining. “Paint is tactile, and it should remind the viewer that they are looking at a painting,” Cogan says. “There’s an obvious trace of the artist’s hand.”

In his new body of work, Cogan explores the idea of place as a source of meaning. The figures in the environments suggest a narrative, but the viewer is allowed to fill in the story. Cogan’s environments go beyond mere context because, like a portrait, they describe a character, a history, and a purpose.

www.kimcogan.com

The Contortionists /  by kimcogan

On the way to work, I recall along the way passing by a beautiful cherry red bicycle locked outside a store. Having passed by the bicycle twice a day to and from work, I assumed the owner lived or worked nearby and didn't pay much attention. It wasn't until one day I noticed that the seat had been stolen and a week later, the wheels were missing. Over a time period of a month, the thieves much like vultures, slowly picked away at the remains piece by piece until all that was left was a dented, rusty old frame which remained for several years chained to the parking meter.

Whenever I pass by bicycles with handlebars missing, or oddly warping wheels that look as though it is melting to the ground like from a Salvador Dali painting, I have often thought to document the slow transformation I had previously observed. I found plenty of subjects to choose from while walking around the streets of New York.




The Contortionists, 2011
20" X 20"
oil on canvas

Art Chicago Art Workshop Hawaii ArtMRKT San Francisco /  by kimcogan

Hespe Gallery will be participating in a few upcoming art fairs and exhibiting a few of my artworks. For more information contact info@hespe.com.


April 29 - May 2, 2011.

Hespe Gallery, booth #253

The Merchandise Mart
Chicago, IL

www.artchicago.com


May 15, 2011. 12 - 6pm.

I will be participating in a special 1 day art workshop in Oahu with talented artists Justin "Coro" Kaufman and Adam 5100. May 15th, from 12 - 6pm. If you are on the island and want to learn about painting, come join us!

Soho Mixed Media Bar
80 S Pauahi St.
Honolulu, HI

www.artworkshophawaii.com



May 19 - 22, 2011.

Hespe Gallery, booth #217

Concourse Exhibition Center
620 7th Street
San Francisco, CA

www.art-mrkt.com

Dallas Art Fair /  by kimcogan



Gallery Henoch will be participating in the Dallas Art Fair April 8 - 10, 2011.


Booth G12

Gallery Henoch
555 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
tel: 917.305.0003
email: Info@galleryhenoch.com
www.galleryhenoch.com

I have added a new painting to my website, it can be viewed at Gallery Henoch. The column to the right, upcoming events has been updated.


Rooftops In Brooklyn, 2011
30" X 45"
oil on canvas

Winter Group Show /  by kimcogan




Winter Group Show, March 3 - 26th, 2011.

Opening reception: Thursday March 3rd, 5:30 - 7:30pm.

Hespe Gallery
251 Post Street, Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94108
tel: 415.776.5918
email: info@hespe.com
www.hespe.com

I have added a few of the new images to my website.



Also, a very limited edition print of the painting "Homeward Bound" is now available at www.827INK.com.

On the go /  by kimcogan



First, I am happy to announce the news of this years upcoming events.

I will be participating in a group show at Hespe Gallery in March.

In September I will have a Solo exhibition with Gallery Henoch.

To the top right of this page, the upcoming events column has been updated. More details to follow soon.


To start of the new year I decide it was time to make life/painting on the go much easier, so I picked up some new equipment.

RIP. This is my old faithful set up I have used for several years. I picked up the easel at a garage sale from a family whose father was an artist and had passed away and the family was selling all the belongings in the studio. The family was very happy when they found out I was an artist, and I assured them that the easel would be of great purpose and put to use.

Whenever I would consider painting outside the studio, the idea would give me a headache because this setup is problematic, for example: it is very time consuming to unpack and to get setup, and then again the same long process cleaning and packing up. As the bolts on old faithful became stripped over the years the easel would wobble which was a sure sign disaster would strike, the easel would collapse in the middle of working on a painting. Several repairs later I continue to use the easel in the studio, but taking it elsewhere is questionable.

Another problem is throwing all my supplies in a backpack since more often I would tend to forget to pack something very crucial to working: brushes, palette, turp, certain color of paint, etc.

After a long time shopping around and comparing the pros and cons of pochade boxes and french easels, I decided to go with a Jullian French easel, since the smallest size I prefer to work around is 11" X 14". Working any smaller and I would feel cramped.


Here is a 28" X 24".

Quote from the website -

"Roger Jullian, a French prisoner of war, devoted himself to designing the perfect sketch box easel. When the war ended, he returned to France and formed the Jullian Company employing French craftsmen to produce the easel from the highest quality materials."

Upon inspection I was very impressed with how well designed and crafted the box was and saw very little need for any improvement. However, I decided to add a few of my own alterations so that everything I use in the studio would fit in one box.

I have never felt comfortable using the old hand held wooden palettes, so first I gutted the drawer, and added an old picture frame for a glass palette. The frame is hinged in and has hardboard backing behind the glass. This provides a sturdy mixing surface and cleanup is very easy.



There is enough space underneath the palette to store a few brushes and palette knives. I stapled in an old canvas brush holder in the side so there would be a place to put the brushes while working, this tucks underneath the palette for storage.


Here is the back half and the storage space underneath the drawer to store paint, brushes, paint rags, snacks, etc. I can fit a fair amount inside easily and if I fiddled around I could probably fit a whole lot more, but maybe bringing a ton of materials isn't necessary.

These 2 pieces of wood were notched and then screwed into the lid which serves a few functions. When closed it keeps the drawer locked in place, keeps the paint in its own separate compartment, and secures the palette in place.

Here is a closeup of the inside, showing how the notches fit. There is enough space to fit 2 small jars, one for turp and one for magic medium. Also there is enough space that I can keep heaps of paint on the palette and the lid does not press up against it when closed. When everything is closed very compact and snug.




I estimate it weighs a little over 20 pounds, not something I would hike long distances with. I attached an old padded shoulder strap of a delivery bag which makes it easy enough for carrying short distances around the city. This is the first round of alterations, and I am sure I will find many more ways to customize the box as I put it to use. Now when thinking of painting on the go, my head is filled with ideas instead of headache.

Give-away winners /  by kimcogan

Thank you to all who replied to my post. I deeply appreciate everyone who wrote in and really am enjoying reading all the stories. We have 3 lucky winners who were the first to respond to my post. They will receive the last of my 2009 catalogs, brochures, and a few promo cards from some past shows. To everyone else who responded today: I appreciate your efforts and you were so close, so I am going to find a little something to send over anyways.

Dee Dee from Oakland, CA -

First I saw your work at John Colins about 5-6 years ago and fell in love. The atmosphere that huge piece created was almost physical, esp. in the dark red brick space of the bar. I asked the barkeep whose work it was and how much he paid for it. (He wouldn't say). One of my art fantasies is to have a giant Cogan cityscape over my couch. It reminds me of those early days after moving to sf, pubcrawling, discovering, thinking, growing up...

Jerarde from Richmond, CA -

My first profound experience as an artist was when I was 15. I interned with Muralist John Wherle to paint a mural. Being a poor kid from the ghetto it was a profound experience. John talked to me like an adult and gave me the confidence to pursue art. We remain friends 15 years later and I am a board member of the Richmond Art Center- the same art center that hooked me up with John and gave me a chance. I now work with the art center to make art accessible to people without the resources.

Michael from Austin, TX -

I will focus on an experience I had with art. It is back in 2006 when I was about to move from San Francisco to Austin, leaving after 10 years with wonderful memories and a ton of good friends. A bunch of us met up at the Jon Collins bar, strangely enough, a bar I had never visited in my 10 years living there. I was having a hard time saying good bye to everyone and the city that I loved. It was then that I saw one of your paintings hanging on the wall. To me it had a dramatic impact because it somehow captured a feeling I had for the city, and it also blew me away from a artistic and technical standpoint. It was a beautiful and captivating view/image of the city that I had never seen before and got me to hunt you down, inquire about the painting and then start to follow your career. I'm amazed by your work and know you will continue to grow and impress.

If you are ever in SF and want to see one of my paintings in person, stop by John Colins.

A Decade: Past To Present /  by kimcogan


2009 Inside Out, Hespe Gallery.

After over 10 years of working as an artist, I've realized times have changed, so I've decided to share briefly some events and thoughts of the development of my career that I deem to be noteworthy -

10 years ago I was freshly finished with school, eager and very hungry to make a living creating art full time. Before the sophistication of the internet, an artist relied upon a solid portfolio of slides of their best artwork. I scraped all my hard earned pennies in order to hire professional photographers to shoot the highest quality images to record all of the artworks I have created. I went to the best in San Francisco, Almac Camera. I can't keep count of the number of slides I have, or remember how many portfolios of these I created, nor can I recall the last time I used such to submit to a gallery. Regardless it has the standard way to submit your artwork for years.

I have always been skeptical about whether or not tiny 35mm slides did any justice to the artwork. What are the chances that you could get your portfolio of slides in the hands of the director, who had to have excellent eye vision, and that he or she would view the image facing correctly forward and right side up, and would actually spend the time of the day to squint and review all the micro sized images? Over and over I submitted my slides for review and would always include a SASE for return. After all these portfolios were time consuming to make, and I made with great care, and they were not at all cheap. So, if not returned, where the hell did my slides end up?



I may never know. Now, the convenience of my website replaces those portfolios of slides. My slide duplicates are kept for my records and are tucked away safely. And as for the rest of them, it remains a mystery. It is sad for me to think there is a whole generation that will never experience slides, cold calls, mailings, fax machines and all the rest of fun grunt work that is involved when you are self employed.





Persistence eventually paid off, as well as making a switch from 35mm to a large format slide. A tattoo parlor expressed interest in my artwork and showcased it. All of my friends and family came out to the opening and I even sold a painting or two which was a sure sign of success, but far from reassuring that I could make a living painting full time. Here is a card from one of my very first shows.



I met an art consultant in 2003. At the time, I was departing from painting a typical genre; landscapes, still lifes, figures, and portraits. Instead, I wanted to paint scenes of the surrounding city, a subject that was personal and meaningful. The art consultant advised me to immediately stop the painting of moody bleak cityscapes which were "unfavorable" and "unmarketable", and to paint happy little still lifes, brightly primary colored baskets of fruit and flowers. If I were to do so in less than a year they promised me a career painting full time. Well, after some thought I quickly realized that I would be miserably slaving away painting lame little still lifes to barely make ends meet, with "happy" the farthest thought from mind. Aw HELL NO!! Needless to say that was the last consulting on art I received from the art consultant.

Many galleries have closed the door when I came around knocking. However in 2005 I was offered an opportunity to show at one of the hottest spots for art in San Francisco, 111 Minna. This show was immensely important for it was a turning point and truly put my artwork and every feat to test if I were to sink or swim. I scraped by and made it happen. The show was a success and opened many doors.



A very big step for me was in 2007 when I began working in Gallery Henoch, NYC. It was very humbling to be included amongst so many great talented artists and to put it simply an employee, Gli157 said to me, "I have made it to the big leagues". Although that statement holds a lot of truth, I never stopped to give it much thought since after all I am still faced with the challenge of creating an image on a blank canvas.

2008 Premiere NYC exhibition, Gallery Henoch.

Since 10 years is so monumental and because I wanted to kick off the holiday season, I have decided to do a give-away. The first 3 people to send an email w/ following information will receive a prize in the mail (Hint: it is in this posting, and is not a painting or a print), from me to you. Send an email and include -

1. your name

2. mailing address

3. a brief statement about one of your first memories or experiences with art and how it influenced or had an impact on you.

Art Calender November 2010 /  by kimcogan





I am featured in Art Calender, November 2010 issue.
This is the 1st time ever my artwork has been featured on the cover, and I am honored they chose to feature my artwork. Pick up a copy at your local news stand or order from the Art Calender website. Since this is a special occasion, I created a slide show of a few old photos from 2008 which show the process of the painting Grocery At Dusk.

Next month - Giveaway ~ stay tuned.