Barbara Cohen: About Barbara



			I have always been an artist and my life revolves around the arts. Raised in New York City, I first studied painting at the Art Student’s League of New York as a teenager. I eventually attended the Carnegie-Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, as a painting and design student. As a graphics major I earned a BA at Parsons School of Design and New York University. I began my career working for George Tscherny, noted graphic designer, and later spent eleven years at Dell Publishing Company, which included eight years as the art director. In 1976, I moved to Denver, CO, where, while raising my family, I pursued my personal artistic talents, which included hand painting and marketing clothing with one-of-a kind designs. My eventual involvement in the fiber arts occurred because of an invitation to take a quiltmaking workshop. In 1991, a class with Nancy Crow introduced me to making contemporary art quilts. After an initial struggle with the sewing machine, I moved easily into the designing part of creating with fabric. My work continues to evolve as I make collage/paintings in cloth with stitching. Often abstract, the work is always evocative of personal events and emotions.
	I work intuitively, always striving to create bold shapes that will catch the viewer’s eye from a distance and entice him/her in for a closer look. I enjoy using paints, embroidery and appliqué in a contemporary fashion to create detail. My work has been exhibited internationally and has been juried into major shows including Quilt National and Fiberarts International. I have been published in the Fiberarts Design Book Seven and my art quilt called Benediction appears on the cover of the book The Mitzvah of Healing. I also create and market custom one-of-a-kind Judaic ritual art pieces such as Shabbat challah covers and Passover matzoh covers. In keeping with my continuing appreciation of various art forms, I have recently begun to produce mosaic objects and custom furniture using the ancient technique of pique assiette. This involves breaking up ceramic tiles, dishes, and ornamental objects and recycling them into new pieces of fine decorative art. I believe that my interest in mosaics is a natural outgrowth of piecing art quilts.

		Here I am with three of my greatest loves --- working in my studio, spending time with my grandchildren, and playing in the Colorado mountains.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2007 Kraft Center for Jewish Life, New York City, “Words Within”. Juried Lakewood Cultural Center, Denver, CO, “The Kitchen Goddess”. Juried 2005 Center for the Arts at the Depot, Steamboat Springs, “Beyond Fiber”. Juried Commonwheel Gallery, Colorado Springs, CO, “Facets: The New Mosaic”. Art Students League of Denver, “Garden Art”. Juried (Mosaic Table) Foothills Gallery, Golden, CO, “Rooted in Transition”. Invited Artist Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, Golden, CO, “Small Works”. Juried 2004 Canaan Gallery, Littleton, CO. Juried Longmont Museum, Longmont, CO. "Dolls with Altitude", Invited Artist Aurora Municipal Center Gallery, Aurora, CO. Invited Artist 2003 Dearborn Rieder Gallery, Boulder, CO. Invited Artist Art Students League, Denver, CO. Invited Artist 2002 Longmont Museum, Boulder, CO, "Pot Luck". Invited Artist Oz Architecture Gallery, Denver, CO. Invited Artist DairyCenter for the Arts, Boulder, CO. Quilts=Art=Quilts, Invited Artist 2001 Fiberart International 01, Pittsburgh, PA, Juried Quilt National 01, The Dairy Barn, Athens, OH. Juried Tu B’Shevat: The New Year of the Trees, Epstein Gallery at the JCC of Metropolitan Detroit, MI, Curator and Commissioned Artist 2000 All Colorado Art Show 2000, Curtis Arts & Humanities Center, Englewood, CO. Juried Piecemakers Show, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM. Invited Artist Tu B”Shevat: The New Year of the Trees, Jewish Museum of Portland, OR, Curator and Commissioned Artist 1999 Tu B’Shevat: The New Year of the Trees, Mizel Museum of Judaica, Denver, CO. Curator and Commissioned Artist 1998 Hidden, Concealed and Revealed: A Search for Jewish Identity, Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. Juried Judaica Show, Boulder Arts & Crafts Cooperative, Boulder, CO. Invitational 1997 Fiber Art, Rule Contemporary Gallery, Denver, CO. Juried Contemporary Fine Art Quilting, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO. Juried 1996 Front Range Contemporary Annual, Metro State Gallery, Denver, CO. Juried 1995 Small Wonders: Embellished Mini-Quilts, Austin, TX. Juried 1994 Front Range Contemporary Quilters Annual, Metro State Gallery, Denver, CO. Juried PUBLICATIONS Rooted in Transition: Art Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Fiberarts Design Book Seven, Lark Books, 2004. Fiberarts Magazine, Nov/Dec 2001, Review of Quilt National. 2001 Fiberart International 17th Biennial Exhibition Catalog, Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh. Popular Patchwork Magazine, London, England, September, 2001, Quilt National Review. Quilt National: The Best Contemporary Quilts, Lark Books, 2000. One Quilt One Moment: Quilts That Change Lives, Primedia Publishing, 2000.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTWORK, PLEASE CONTACT BARBARA