EROTICISM AND REBELLION - CYNTHIA COHEN IN MIAMI
The Shame (Behind the Scene) is Cynthia Cohen’s first solo show in Miami, at Dot Fiftyone Gallery. The exhibition is curated by Laura Isola. Cohen’s paintings regenerate the historical gaze on the naked female body, creating new relationships between the work and the viewer. She disrupts the logic of art history, reinventing the relationship between subject and observer, private and public. Her work simultaneously veils and unveils sexuality.
This series of paintings examines the connections between the artist and mainstream cinematic representations of forbidden eroticism and rebellion. Cohen’s approach to these images, through incisive figuration, both references and questions the history of art, bodies, and the male and female gaze. A shared foundation lies in these formative representations. What did they shape? What bodies did they bring into being? What did they allow women to be and do?
This photographic project was done in collaboration with Catalina Arango, the producer of this and many other projects they have worked on together. Arango, with great knowledge and immense patience, gently introduced Cohen to the world of cinema. They scouted locations, rented period clothing, cast actresses and actors, and hired a set designer, makeup artist, and lighting technician. They rented props and organized catering, as food is a fundamental part of eroticism and consumption. Together, they built several sets that enabled Cohen to recreate the atmosphere captured in the photographs.
During an eight-hour session, Cohen directed naked bodies posing for clandestine encounters. She made decisions about the placement of each individual—dressed men, naked women—and explored themes of control and vulnerability, with women serving male satisfaction. The scenes conveyed both solitude and complicity. It was a significant challenge. The second challenge was translating these scenes into paintings—defining brushstrokes, working with shadows, and immersing herself in the textures of fabrics, which were both stimulating and complex.
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Cynthia Cohen. The Shame 4, 2024 Oil on canvas plus velvet curtain, steel rod, laminated wood paneling, 11 x 9 inches photo print and lighting fixture. 26 × 39 × 2 in | 66 × 99.1 × 5.1 cm
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Cynthia Cohen. The Shame I, 2024 Oil on canvas plus velvet curtain, steel rod, laminated wood paneling, 11 x 9 inches photo print and lighting fixture. 35 1/2 × 43 × 2 in | 90.2 × 109.2 × 5.1 cm
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Cynthia Cohen. The Shame 6, 2024 Oil on canvas plus velvet curtain, steel rod, laminated wood paneling, 11 x 9 inches photo print and lighting fixture. 31 × 39 in | 78.7 × 99.1 cm
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Cynthia Cohen. The Shame 7, 2024 Oil on canvas plus velvet curtain, steel rod, laminated wood paneling, 11 x 9 inches photo print and lighting fixture. 31 × 39 × 2 in | 78.7 × 99.1 × 5.1 cm
Cynthia Cohen is an accomplished Argentine artist and a graduate of the Prilidiano Pueyrredón National School of Fine Arts. She has exhibited widely in Argentina and internationally. Recent notable exhibitions include Revelaciones at Galería MC and Cien Caminos, Un Día at the Museum of Modern Art (2023) in Buenos Aires. Her work has been shown at prominent venues such as Bienal Sur, Museo Marco, and Galería Del Paseo, Peru. In 2022, she published her first monograph, Folklore Expresivo, covering her work from 1995 to 2022.
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