Genevieve Cohn

Visiting Lecturer in Art

Painter working with the history, imagination and construction of female-centric communities.

My paintings project possible communities of women by drawing from both a historical and imaginative past, present, and future. Utilizing imagery and ideologies drawn from The Women’s Land Army from World War I and World War II, my paintings acknowledge and reflect a world where female power is derived from collaboration, self-endowed agency and connection with the natural world. I consider ideas of collection, adornment, beauty, and choice as the figures within the worlds of my work construct sacred spaces that engage ideas of ritual and practice.
My teaching practice celebrates painting and drawing as ways of deeply engaging with the world around and within us. I am interested in investigating the histories that shape who we are and what we are able to see, and the ways that we can translate these complicated, intersectional lives into a visual image. I am interested in the practice of seeing, the practice of discovery, and the practice of making.
I have been an artist-in-residence at AiRgentum in Seville, Spain, The Vermont Studio Center, The Ragdale Foundation and The Fiore Art Center. My work has been exhibited nationally, most recently with Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami and Steven Zevitas Gallery here in Boston.
When I am not painting or teaching, I prefer to be outside, where I should say I am hiking but will most likely be picnicking. I am originally from Vermont and still consider myself a woodland critter at heart.

Current and upcoming courses

  • This foundational studio course addresses the issue of composition in two-dimensional media. It focuses on the fundamental elements of visual design (e.g., line, shape, value, space, color) and their compositional impact. Studio projects emphasize visual problem-solving skills as a means of achieving more effective communication, with some attention to the issues of typography. Assignments explore a range of media and encourage creative experimentation with both analog and digital processes.