ABOUT THE WORK OF COBIE RUSSELL

The artist’s large-scale paintings and drawings consistently create depth through the layering of lines, forms and vibrant color. When combined, these elements create a soft texture and luminous glow. Moving between figurative composition and abstraction, Cobie works to identify the simplest elements of form.

Cobie Russell’s work is influenced by the power of materials and light. Early and mid-career artwork focused on the varying light of the New England coastline, the beaches of California and the high desert of the Southwest. Her travels profoundly affected her studies of the way in which light reflects on natural surfaces. Cobie’s more recent experiences in diverse and visually striking environments, such as the deeply shadowed Sangre de Christo Mountains of New Mexico and the incandescent colors of the ocean and shoreline in Tulum, Mexico, have moved the artist forward in her exploration of light and form.

Early exposure to artists working in their studios and developing their own ideas profoundly affected Cobie’s path as a visual artist. Her years as an art student and experiences working with established artists informed Cobie’s understanding that the visual arts are accessible and meaningful.

RECENT SERIES

Color of the Cosmos

At Night on Earth, the Moon reflects the Light of the Sun.
When the Moon rises, like tonight, everything changes.
Lunar light floods my garden and this studio. And then

“And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.”

These paintings are the elements of Sky and Earth at Night.
They are lunar botanicals created in abstraction
of the joy brought by Moonlight to my paintings.

KRONOS

Cobie Russell’s recent work, Kronos and Kairos, presents her idea of time in its simplest terms. In the first set of works of the Kronos series, she visually explores time as it exists in the universe with a celestial perspective. The sun and the moon are recurring themes. The subjects are light – both source and subject – and space each in their most elementary form.

Created during a period of intense productivity, the artist uses lines of different widths and textures that are also subtle in their introduction of color. This results in a body of work that pushes the boundaries to fully realize the round shape and the movement of the sun and the moon.

With continued analysis of time, the next phase of Kronos explores an earth-bound perspective. The series honors an archetypal notion of landscape. Here, the artist addresses the concept of “time” using visual language that is familiar in geology – that is combining sky and land. This body of work intensifies the experience of the power of location in time and place.

In Kronos II, the artist sheds color completely using a variety of materials to create depth of black and shadow. This simplicity leads to an “other worldly” quality where works on paper become complete paintings.

KAIROS

Rooted in the concept of “the moment,” Kairos investigates the quality of being in-the-moment, “human time,” without the constraint of measuring “clock time.” Here, Kairos gives way to an incredible lightness while maintaining the power of form.

In this series of paintings and drawings, the artist seeks the instant of consciousness just before an idea - or opportunity - strikes. It is as though that moment hangs freely without history or the passage of chronological time. While still focusing on form, the artist conveys anticipation through hints of color at the very edges of form. The majority of this work was created in the brilliant white light of summer which shows up in her color palette.

The concluding works in the Kairos series are an expansion of the artist’s earlier Aria series. These paintings and drawings express the lightness of being, moving from meditative to dynamic. At some moments, these artworks are precise while at others they are fluid. The artist intentionally creates accessible textures and forms with simplicity of composition.

In Kairos II, the artist’s color palette is black, gray and white. This specific, limited range of color and the high contrast heighten the inherent qualities of creativity and freedom that permeate the experience of Kairos. These simplified forms are human, intricate, and filled with Cobie Russell’s distinctive sense of what is possible and what we can really see.

Aria

An aria by definition is a singular voice with musical accompaniment. Influenced by music from all traditions, the artist created Aria during a time of questioning and societal uncertainty - exploring the urgency to find one's voice in the midst of gray and noise.

Aria as a series is a journey to find focus amid discord. Each work - primarily on canvas - overlays form upon form to reference dimension with the emphasis on a single form emerging from its environment. At times vibrant and at other times delicate, the color and shape are what define the intrinsic perspective of the artwork as a statement or even as a persona.

The materials used are referred to as mixed media because of the combination of traditional and emerging materials. This combination, using classic painting techniques, generates a lasting color intensity and velvety texture on canvas.

Of Light and Air: NaviGuer

A seminal collection in the artist’s portfolio, Naviguer is entirely composed of large canvases and limited color, narrowing focus to achieve elegance of form. The series embraces the limitlessness of sky and sea – of the vibrancy of light, which exists in vast and open space. Naviguer is not about an abstraction of a sail but rather the concept of it. Here, there is no specific object, time or place. Rather the works explore suspension, enormity, and strength. The compositional construction is created through a layering of lines and materials. The resulting artwork creates movement in fullness of sail – quite literally, in full sail.

Resolute

Resolute embodies momentum. The forms and compositions reflect the inventiveness of humanity building upon the forces of nature. Just as a sail harnesses wind and a boat in motion resists against a large body of water, the artwork in the Resolute series propels forward the human spirit.

Simultaneously, Resolute also explores a juxtaposition of life on water dominating a backdrop of urban activity. The series reflects 'the call of the water' as it relates to the human condition. The artist states the need to move forward in a dynamic context. Works on canvas and paper were created with a layering of edges and materials to communicate environments filled with light and color.