Night Train, a series of multi-media panel paintings by Linda Cohn is inspired in part by the rhythm of jazz musician Duke Ellington and sleepless nights steeped in thought. In Night Train Cohn grapples with the daily realizations resulting from the conscious re-workings of memories, experiences and imaginings. The overlapping acrylic, charcoal, gouache, ink and oil paint on canvas play with variations in scale and perception creating work that is both jarring and contemplative. The exhibition contains large scale panels with each panel revealing Cohn’s stream-of-consciousness approach to art where one stroke prompts another. Expressive color unites gestural markings and more meticulous strokes while thin glazes counterpoint heavier painted markings. Cohn uses varying styles and subjects to depict movement, figures and objects. The outcome is a revealing look at the “unconscious underpinnings of the psyche”, according to the artist.
About Linda Cohn
Linda Cohn holds an MFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BFA and MA in printmaking from Bradley University. She was an Artist-in-Residence at Ragdale Foundation and the Ox-Bow School of Painting & Sculpture. As an archaeological draftsman for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, she documented a New Kingdom temple in Luxor, Egypt, for preservation purposes. Cohn’s work has been exhibited in 58 solo and group shows at venues including the Pratt Graphics Center, the Art Institute of Chicago, American University in Cairo, Department of Cultural Affairs in Savannah, Georgia, and the Rockford Art Museum. Her work is also in numerous public and private collections in the United States. Currently, she teaches drawing and painting at the Hyde Park Art Center.
