Orly Cogan is an Israeli-American

fiber art Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a #Natural fibers, natural or Fiber#Artificial fibers, artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The st ...

ist who works with and combines multiple mediums. She is best known for crafting hand stitched embroidered figures on top of previously embroidered vintage fabrics.

Early life and education

Orly Cogan was born in

Jaffa, Israel Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

in 1971. Cogan attended a Rudolf Steiner Waldorf School in her youth, attributing this education to her discovery of textiles as a medium. She stated, "The sense of freedom I felt to explore without fear of getting things wrong meant that I could become comfortable expressing myself visually." Cogan lives and works in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She was educated at The Cooper Union for Advancement of Science & Art an
The Maryland Institute College of Art

Career

Style

Cogan begins with vintage fabrics which served as table runners, bureau scarves and tablecloths, and had already been embroidered by an earlier and more circumscribed generation of women. Cogan then transforms the "

women's work Women's work is a field of labour assumed to be solely the realm of women and associated with specific stereotypical jobs considered as uniquely feminine or domestic duties throughout history. It is most commonly used in reference to the unpaid la ...

" pieces with modern images, statements about gender identity, and role models for today's woman.

Themes

Cogan typically mixes themes of old and new, to find modern feminist inspiration though "old fashioned" pieces of women's handiwork. Her work is "drawn to dichotomies, such as soft and tough, dirty and clean, fantasy and reality, especially as they relate to gender. y workexplores common feminine archetypes and stereotypes such as Madonna/Whore,

Pin-Up Girl A pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures are intended for informal and aesth ...

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

, and the

Femme Fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

. Searching for that odd thing, the Feminist Beauty Queen, I mix subversion with flirtation, humor with power, and intimacy with frivolity, and in doing so I often straddle an ironic edge." Discussing her 2018-2019 exhibit "Don't Call Me Princess" at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center in

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a New England town, town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located about north of the Massachusetts state line at the confluence of Vermont's West River (Vermont), West River and the Connec ...

Cogan stated, "Ultimately, my quest is to tell a story about the role of women in our ever-changing society, all the while honoring the labors of the past. In the process, I aim to provoke certain questions within the context of constantly shifting boundaries that define our relationships and our identities: What role do women want to play in society today? Who do we want to be? What kind of relationships do we want to have? Who are our role models? What are we teaching our children? American women have grown up with fairy tales in our heads, and somehow that “happily ever after” idea is instilled early on. With my own daughter I saw how strongly princesses infiltrated her play, although she had no direct exposure to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

movies or theme parks. I edited the few fairy tales we had, changing the sexist stories to empowering ones for my child's ears."

Reception

Orly Cogan's work has been called post-modern feminist, sensual, wholesome, and erotically charged.

Work

Major exhibitions

Solo * 2018 - "Don’t Call Me Princess" Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, Brattleboro, VT * 2010 - "Child's Play" Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL * 2010 - "Love Street" Charlie James Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Featured * 2012 - "Cross Currents"

Memphis College of Art Memphis College of Art (MCA) was a private art college in Memphis, Tennessee. It was in Overton Park, adjacent to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. It offered Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Art Education and M ...

, curated by Jennifer Sargent * 2010 - "Narrative Thread," during "Fiber Philadelphia" Wexler Gallery, PA * 2009 - "I Want Candy"

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum is located in Wausau, Wisconsin. It is best known for its annual "Birds in Art" exhibition, which exhibits contemporary artistic representations of birds. The annual exhibition has been held beginning the week a ...

, Wausau Wisconsin ** "I Want Candy" traveling exhibition. Fresno Metropolitan Museum, Fresno, California ** "Pretty Tough: Contemporary Story telling"

Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Aldrich has no permanent collection and is the only museum in Connecticut that is dedicated solely to the exhibition of contemporary art. The museum presents the first ...

, CT ** "It's Not Us, It's You" San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, CA ** "imMaterial"

Black and White Gallery Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

site specific installation NYC. ** "She Will Always Be Younger Than Us"

Textile Museum of Canada The Textile Museum of Canada, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a museum dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and documentation of textiles. History The Textile Museum of Canada was founded as the Canadian Museum of Carpets and Textiles ...

, with work from Wednesday Lupypciw, Cat Mazza, Gillian Strong and

Ginger Brooks Takahashi Ginger Brooks Takahashi (born July 26, 1977) is an American artist based in Brooklyn, New York, and North Braddock, Pennsylvania. A self-identified “punk,” Takahashi grew up in Oregon. She co-founded the feminist genderqueer collective and j ...

in connection to the "When Women Rule The World: Judy Chicago in Thread" exhibit also at the Textile Museum of Canada. * 2008 - "She Will Always be Younger Than Us" "Undomestic" Peppers Gallery,

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

, California * 2007 - "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery"

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

, New York NY. ** "I Want Candy" Hudson River Museum, New York **

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art is located on the fourth floor of the Brooklyn Museum, New York City, United States. Since 2007 it has been the home of Judy Chicago's 1979 installation, ''The Dinner Party''. The Center's namesak ...

* 2006 -

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

digital feminist art archive project ** "Strangers to Ourselves" curated by Julia Tratta Kimmel Center Gallery NY, NY

References

External links

Orly Cogan's webpage

Collection of Orly Cogan's works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogan, Orly 1971 births Living people American women artists 21st-century American women