Press Release

(New Orleans, LA) JONATHAN FERRARA GALLERY is pleased to announce THE HUMAN CONDITION, the long-awaited premiere solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based sculptor Lori Cozen-Geller. After forging a relationship with the gallery just prior to the pandemic, the artist unveils nine recent works in her first physical exhibition at the gallery. Her minimalist, wooden forms personify universal emotion and experience through shape, color, and repetition. Most characteristic of her work is her employment of displacement, which implores the viewer to question both the void left behind, as well as, what new, and separate, emerges as a result.  

 

The artist says of her latest work . . . 

 

The essence of my work is, and always has been, to distill the most complex universal human experiences into the simplest of forms. True to my practice, the pieces I am showing in The Human Condition capture complex emotions and experiences that are universal to all mankind. 

 

The work in this exhibition spans the years from 1986 to current. While each piece encapsulates the human condition into concrete forms, a remarkable shift happened in my work in 2021.

 

I distinguish the works of this exhibition into two categories: 
Circle of Life, Piece (Blue), Striking, Family (White), and Patience (Red) were conceived prior to the pandemic, and they are much more individualistic in focus. They beckon existential questions like:

 

“What mark am I going to make in this world?” - Circle of Life

 

“Who am I after experiencing loss?” - Piece (Red)

 

“How do I maintain individuality in a relationship?” - Striking

 

By contrast, Connection, Connections, Attitudes and Chatterboxes / Point of View were born out of a time of social and political unrest. These pieces are less focused on the individual and more on the collective. Thematically, each piece focuses on coming together, resilience, and connection. They speak to dynamics like:

 

“How do we as humans connect from a distance?” - Connection and Connections

 

“Do I choose to view this situation through a positive or negative lens?” – Attitudes

 

“What hidden joy can I find in spontaneous human convergence?” - Chatterboxes / Point of View

 

I find it remarkable that despite the shift from individual to the collective, my journey of creation with each of these pieces starts with a feeling, evolves into a powerful emotion and is then transformed into art.

 

Lori Cozen-Geller is an American artist known for her work as a finish fetish minimalist. Unlike the premise of mid-century minimalism where the artwork itself did not hold meaning, Cozen-Geller’s work is based on complex human emotions depicted in ultra-simplistic forms. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, during the era of minimalism, the bowed and flat roof lines and sleekness of Southern California architecture coupled with the countries obsession with opulent automobiles created the foundation for her artistic style.

 

The artist’s work centers around bringing human emotions into visual form in the most simplistic ways. Her works are part of several museum collections as well as private and corporate collections. The artist lives and works in Venice, CA.

 

The exhibition will be on view from 18 October through 16 December 2023 with an opening reception on Saturday 4 November and a closing reception on Saturday 2 December coinciding with the Arts District of New Orleans’ (ADNO) monthly First Saturday Gallery Openings from 5 – 9 PM.

 

For more information, press or sales inquiries please contact Gallery Director Matthew Weldon Showman at 504.343.6827 or matthew@jonathanferraragallery.com. Please join the conversation with JFG on Facebook (@JonathanFerraraGallery), Twitter (@JFerraraGallery), and Instagram (@JonathanFerraraGallery) via the hashtags: #LoriCozenGeller, #JonathanFerraraGallery, and #ArtsDistrictNewOrleans.