Bill Cohn’s pieces have been featured in solo, two-person, and juried group shows for the past 30 years. While developing and evolving an extensive body of ceramic work in the studio, Cohn pursued a business career as a software industry product manager and executive. As of 2020 Cohn retired from business and is thrilled to be cultivating an art-filled life.
Statement
My ceramics journey started more than 30 years ago as an avocation and psychic balance to my business career. I threw functional work on the wheel, but couldn’t resist altering the forms: carving, adorning, twisting, paddling, cinching and lashing them with rope. In the early 2000s I shifted to slab-building sculptures and began incorporating rock into many pieces shortly after. The result has been a body of sculptural work that emphasizes texture, movement and earth-connection.
A unifying theme for my work is “Industrial/Organic”. I see beauty in the endless textures we’ve created for otherwise mundane and common artifacts of daily life – bath mats, mesh bags, bubble wrap, rug pads, light diffusers, etc. When impressed in clay, the patterns take on new life, resulting in work that is earthy, eye-catching, and engaging. Viewers have described my sculptures as “mutant organisms that seem to have evolved from soil fertilized by industrial waste” that evoke feelings of “being in the New England woods or on a foreign planet all at the same time.”
For the past few years I’ve explored variations on the idea of the cairn. On a mountaintop, cairns can be a godsend; they reassure by communicating that "others have passed this way". They invite reflection and pause, and prompt the instinct to touch. My cairns incorporate ceramics, rock, and wood and often play with the improbability of balance, which can leave viewers a bit unsettled. The series includes larger pieces and fountains, suitable for landscapes, gardens, and atria. My body of work also includes pedestal, wall, and hanging pieces.
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