fine art

The sculpture of Claudia Cohen is a balancing act. On the one hand there is the mysterious, ambiguous world of her imagination, on the other the dazzling precision of her technique. Everything depends on the conviction with which she visualizes her strange creatures, which she sculpts in a meticulous style of detailed representation. This enables her to give full expression to her inner world of images and ideas. The style is in principle realistic, the subject matter magical, and Magic Realism has characterized her work in a way unique to her vision. In 2005 her work was awarded a national award from the George Sugarman Foundation. In the book Humor in Art, the work was described as comic surrealism, which aptly sums up the other aspect of her intriguing point of view. Her sculpture, in bronze and ceramic, portray a magical cast of characters; human, animal, and a fantastical prodigy from a different and inviting universe. Educated at the Boston Museum School, her sculptures can be seen in prominent galleries and Art Collections all over the country including, recently, Hanson’s Gallery in Carmel.

There can be few artists working today who inhabit such a cogent, unified private world, and have such an immediate gift of inviting everyone else into it

To be able to shape my dreams and fantasies in tangible form, to see what three- dimensional form those mysterious sparks form within my subconscious will take is for me what the creative search is all about. The work has been described as having a style of comic surrealism, with a narrative and often humorous direction. Creating a world of sculpted beings is my way of telling the myths and stories that my inner visions lead me to express; and clay and bronze are the materials that allow me to share them with others. Selected Awards 2008 Invited artist, The Grand Ceramic Theater,MAIAAO, Museo Internazionale delle Arti applicate Oggi, Turin – ITALY 2005 George Sugarman Foundation, Art Grant. National Award

2005 Invited Artist, Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea,Florence, Italy
2004 First Prize in Sculpture. Scottsdale Center for the Arts. AZ
2003 Grant Recipient, Marin Arts Council, San Rafael, CA
2001 Sculpture Award, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, AZ
2001 Sculpture Award, Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, Palo Alto, CA
1993 Discovery Award Winner, Art of California Magazine
1993 Art at the Movies, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
1993 Grant Recipient, Marin Arts Council, San Rafael, CA
Marin Society of Artists, Open Sculpture Exhibition, Ross,
BACA National Exhibition, Berkeley, CA