Brian D. Cohen is a printmaker, painter, educator, and writer whose artistic journey
bridges the tactile and the intellectual. His multifaceted career spans decades of creation,
education, and literary exploration. A graduate of Haverford College, Cohen went on to
complete his MFA in Painting at the University of Washington, a foundation that would
shape his lifelong commitment to art as both a craft and a form of inquiry.
In 1989, Cohen founded Bridge Press, dedicated to the association and integration of
visual imagery, original text, and book structure. Through this endeavor, he redefined the
artist’s book, not merely as an object of art but as a living dialogue between word, image,
and form. His practice continually examines how meaning is constructed and experienced
through material, narrative, and design.
A Vision Rooted in Process
Cohen’s approach to art is deeply process-driven. He begins broadly, laying down a clear
geometric underpinning, yet what emerges on the plate is never entirely predetermined.
He is open to the unpredictable interplay of hand, tool, and material.
For Cohen, etching is a conversation between control and chance. The process is
inherently physical and elemental, demanding precision and patience while embracing the
unpredictability of chemistry and touch. Many unexpectedly satisfying things happen in
the process of etching. It is physical and elemental, requiring force and pressure, inviting
aggression and delicacy, conjoining fire, water, earth, and air.
Each print becomes a record of that dialogue between intention and accident,
permanence and impermanence. By setting an image into metal, Cohen implies durability
and endurance, embedding both the image and the energy of its making into a lasting
form. His works are more than representations; they are meditations on time, materiality,
and transformation.
Steel Bridge: A Symbol of Connection
Among his works, Steel Bridge stands as an emblem of Cohen’s artistic philosophy. At first
glance, it captures the architectural precision of human engineering. Yet, beneath the
surface, the etching reverberates with metaphor, a bridge not only as a structure of
support but as a symbol of passage and transition.
Through subtle tonal shifts and deliberate mark-making, Steel Bridge transcends its literal
subject to evoke themes of endurance, connection, and stability amid flux. The intricate
lines seem both deliberate and spontaneous, echoing the dualities Cohen embraces in his
practice: geometry and intuition, strength and fragility, permanence and change.
The piece, much like his broader body of work, invites contemplation. It asks viewers to
pause, to recognize the dialogue between what is built and what endures.
Recognition and Reach
Cohen’s artistic excellence has been widely recognized. He has exhibited in over forty
individual exhibitions, including two major retrospectives, and participated in more than
two hundred group shows across the United States and beyond. His books and etchings
reside in major public and private collections, affirming the enduring resonance of his
work with both audiences and institutions.
His mastery has earned him international acclaim, winning print competitions in San
Diego, Philadelphia, Mexico City, New York, and Washington, D.C. Each award speaks not
only to his technical proficiency but also to his ability to communicate universal ideas
through the language of printmaking.
Educator and Writer
Beyond the gallery, Cohen has illustrated natural science books and contributed artwork
to numerous literary reviews and publications, including the Paris Review. His ability to
harmonize image and text reflects a rare sensitivity, a capacity to both visualize the
written word and to articulate the visual with precision and grace.
Parallel to his artistic practice, Cohen has dedicated much of his life to education. His
teaching experience spans numerous schools and studios, where he has inspired his
students to explore the possibilities of printmaking, painting, and visual thinking.
As a writer, his insights on art and arts education have appeared in national print and
online journals and magazines, where he articulates the value of artistic inquiry and the
importance of fostering creative literacy. Cohen’s voice, both visual and written,
advocates for a deeper understanding of art as an essential human endeavor, one that
bridges intellect, emotion, and experience.
Living with the Elements
Cohen’s art resonates with the rhythms of the natural world. By engaging the
fundamental forces of fire, water, earth, and air, his process becomes almost ritualistic, a
reenactment of creation itself. Each etched line captures not just the image, but the
moment of transformation: the press’s pressure, the acid’s bite, the artist’s hand guiding
chaos into order.
In this elemental balance lies a philosophy, a belief in art as endurance, in the act of making as both a physical and spiritual pursuit. His etchings embody a quiet permanence, inviting viewers to slow down and encounter the world not as a fleeting spectacle but as an
enduring presence.
A Life in Art
Today, Brian D. Cohen lives and works in Kennebunk, Maine, continuing to create, write,
and teach. His life’s work reflects a profound understanding of art’s dual nature, as both
process and product, both discovery and declaration.
Through his prints, writings, and teachings, Cohen encourages us to see beyond the
surface, to appreciate the dialogue between structure and spontaneity, between human
effort and natural law. His legacy, much like his etched images, endures in the strength of
its foundation and the subtlety of its vision.
