Kirstie Cohen’s landscapes are suffused with the mysterious atmosphere of the Scottish hills and coast. Born in Edinburgh and raised in North Berwick, Kirstie’s work has been influenced by the sweeping panoramas of the east coast as well as the Highlands where she now lives.
Working from her studio on an isolated Highland croft, she creates magical evocations of our wild hills and shores onto canvas. The elemental essence of land and sea are described using masterfully worked veils of oil paint like spun silk to powerful effect. Highlights of jewel-pure colour thread through the mists to evoke the shimmer of sky and water and sunlight above strong presences of mountain or rock.
“My painting lies within the context of the northern romantic landscape tradition. I try and convey the essence of land, sea and sky and express a sense of space light or mood of the moment rather than depict a specific location as this creates a boundary that restricts the process of developing the work. It is overall a more emotional cathartic response. The ongoing process of applying paint to canvas, gradually building layer upon layer, eventually evolves its own luminosity and depth. It is a process that is continual and vital in all its hidden frustrations. The elemental ideas of diffusion, suspension and reflection are key concerns, contributing to the final dynamic of the painting.”
Gazing at Kirstie’s paintings, our minds can escape from the pressures of everyday life to experience the magnificence of wild places. Our eyes can be delighted and entranced ty the depths of her dexterous handling of paint surfaces.
1963 Born Edinburgh, Scotland
1983 - 87 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Glasgow School of Art
1987 - 88 Post Graduate Studies, GSA
Exhibitions
1986 Scottish society of Women Artists, Edinburgh
1987 Metro Gallery, Glasgow, 'New Graduates of Glasgow School of Art'
1988 Compass Gallery, Glasgow, "New Generation Scottish Artists"
1989 Olympia London Contemporary International Fair
1991 Andrew Usiskin Gallery, Hamstead, London - One women Exhibition
Tabour Gallery, Canterbury - Mixed exhibition
1992 Andrew Usiskin Gallery, Hampstead, London - “High-lands” Exhibition
1993 - 03 Graham Stewart Gallery, Dunblane
1994 Athol Gallery, Dunkeld - Spring Exhibition 1994
1997 London Contemporary Art Fair
Glasgow Contemporary Art Fair - HiArts
1998 – 2003 Kilmorack Gallery
1999 Peter Potter Gallery Haddington
Art TM Inverness, Escape: Highland Landscape
Hienzel Gallery Aberdeen
Just Art, Fochabers
2000 Glasgow Art Fair – Kilmorack Gallery
Art TM Open
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
2001 Glasgow Art Fair – Art tm
Castle Gallery, Inverness
Riverside Gallery, Stonehaven
Leith Gallery, Edinburgh
2001-2002 Highland Artists Open –Touring Exhibition
Art tm – paper, scissors, stone
Solo show – Castlegate House Gallery
Cockermouth – ‘Horizon and Reflection’
Inspiration Art Gallery, Oxford
2003 ‘In the Blood’, Heinzel Gallery, Aberdeen
Broughton Gallery, Summer show
Gold Gallery, Edinburgh Festival Exhibition
Tolquhon Gallery, Ellon
Placements and teaching experience
1988 Castle Toward Course, Artist in Residence, Strathclyde Region
Part-time teaching replacement at GSA
Awards
1986 Nancy Graham Memorial Prize (SSWA)
Hospital Field Scholarship
1988 Chalmers Jarvise Prize (RSA Student Competition)
1989 Finalist, British Airways Artists Award Olympia
2000 Art TM Open Prize
Collections
Various private collections nation-wide and in the USA