Jennifer Paige Cohen. Lately Like a Hummingbird

About

Cohen’s sculptures are cast from the human body but also exist as abstract shapes. While in the past she has cast the works off the bodies of close friends, these are entirely cast from her own body, making them proximate self-portraits and records of her body at a particular moment in time. These recent works are smaller and denser than Cohen’s previous sculpture, with a more legible emphasis on the found fabric that she embeds into the plaster casts. Here, twisted fabric adorns the sculptures’ exteriors and is collaged on their surfaces in gestures that compress garment and body. Cohen seeks out previously worn garments and recently has intuitively moved toward patterns with bright hues. 

Cohen’s new series of wall works are not directly cast from the body, but mimic the shape of the human torso by employing sweatshirts encased in plaster. These pieces call to mind ancient protective garments in the same way that the sculptures echo the forms of casts made for broken limbs. These particular bodies of work think through how anxiety affects us emotionally and physically, often on an interior level that we can’t see or understand. The reference to armor and casts speaks to both protection and regeneration. Titled after flora and the months of the year — the works look toward the passing of time and springtime renewal.