Is this reality or art?　Charles Cohan’s solo exhibition of exquisite prints on the theme of “lack of vision”

Written by ART Driven Tokyo

The gallery was founded by an American artist during the Corona Disaster. The high-graded shows attract art fans in Tokyo

ART Driven Tokyo introduces one of the best of Tokyo’s unique, global, flat-sense, relaxed, and supremely intellectual galleries.

It is GALLERY ETHER. The gallery presents SNOWBLIND, the second solo exhibition by Honolulu-based printmaker Charles Cohan, from October 21st through November 11th. The gallery was founded in 2020, during the Corona disaster, in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo. The director is Jeremy Strength, an artist from Florida, USA. (The exhibition ended.)

日本語記事はこちら。

Retina damaged by climbing a mountain. The experience of “lack of vision” created a unique art form

In SNOWBLIND, Hawai’i-based printmaker Charles Cohan presents multiple ongoing print series exploring optical phenomena in his second solo exhibition by GALLERY ETHER. Inspired by the artist’s own experience with Photokeratitis, a painful condition of the eyes caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) light rays. The condition is akin to a sunburn of the cornea and conjunctiva and is known to cause pain, intense tears, eye twitching, constricted pupils, and discomfort from bright light.

Cohan first experienced this condition at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,100 meters) while climbing Mt. Hood in Oregon, USA in his youth. Through his ongoing series, Cohan delivers a quite literal visual consideration of the indelible effects of retinal burn and optical failure, while giving further consideration to them as metaphorical representations of various psychological forms of “lack of vision”.

Frequency Spectrum is an open-edition print series that Cohan has been working on for the past two years. Every print is individually produced by hand using completely analog lithography techniques. This series works as a variable-size installation and was recently featured on a larger scale at the Bongsan Cultural Center in Daegu, South Korea. The work is intentionally disorienting as a way of drawing focus to the limitations and failures of human perception.

SNOWBLIND, Lithography ink on paper is a monochrome companion piece to the Frequency Spectrum open edition print series that Cohan has been working on for the past two years. Every print is individually produced by hand using completely analog lithography techniques.

These works are meant to emulate the discomfort experienced when something interferes with your ability to see. Audiences will think like this. “Is this reality or print?”

Visualizes the song of extinct birds. The big problem can’t be seen or heard. Listen to the soundwave of the birds

Each print in the collaborative Silence series visualizes the song of an extinct species of bird. The sound recordings of each bird were transcribed from the recordings of Seattle-based sound archeologist/anthropologist Gordon Hempton, then printed by Cohan in collaboration with Abigail Romanchak, who will be the artist in residency at the University of Hawaii from November 2023.

Listen to the soundwave of the extinct birds.

Buildings made of cheap metal do not last. Questioning humanity’s tendency to think in the short-term

The Rust Prints are made of “rusting” paper. To produce these prints, Cohan uses steel plates from the Pearl Harbor scrap yard. He wets the plates with water and various chemicals, allowing them to rust. He applies this mixture a few times, finally applying paper and leaving the resulting rust to dry. Each application of the technique takes 2-3 months to complete.

Coincidentally produced just before the town of Lahaina was unfortunately burned

The smaller rust prints featured in the gallery hallway are made using the same technique as the ones in the small room but feature an extra element of printing on top of the rust. The printed portion is made from a series of Charlie’s drawings of burning buildings using collagraph techniques. This series was coincidentally produced just before the town of Lahaina was unfortunately burned to the ground.

The atmosphere is like a street corner café. The gallery offers a new style of art space that connects artists and people

GALLERY ETHER is a multimedia contemporary art space, founded to empower people to build and enrich the narratives of their own lives, dedicated to providing both known and emerging artists with the means through which they can showcase their artistic visions and explorations.

It is the gallery’s continued mission to serve as a conduit in connecting artists and audiences to foster the ongoing conversations that art continually inspires.
The atmosphere is like a street corner café. During the show neighbors casually dropped by and communicated with the staff without hesitation.

On the basement floor, there is a primary gallery space that introduces a wide range of works by artists from Japan and abroad, while on the ground floor, there is a book space where visitors can enjoy art books and a space for selling goods created in collaboration with artists. The gallery offers a new style of gallery that connects artists and people.

Unbound by anything. Respects flat perspective

The name of the gallery, “ETHER,” means “unbound by anything,” and this attitude is consistent not only in the atmosphere of the gallery but also in the selection of artists to be introduced. The gallery does not limit itself by gender, hometown, fame, or the media it handles, but rather has a strong belief that it should introduce good artists from all aspects of high culture to street culture from a flat perspective.

Artists represented include Charles Cohan, MUEBON, Nelson Hor, Chiharu Roach, Jeff Stevens, Alex Face, Sante Vigioni, SAKI OTSUKA, Mari Katayama, Kenki Tsujimoto, Masaki Okuten, Kentaro Takahashi, etc.

Charles Cohan

Charles Cohan is Professor of Art and Chair of Printmaking in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts.

He works under the moniker ‘Arm and Roller Press’ when printing for artists and in community events, and is the co-founder of the Honolulu-based Lithopixel Refactory Collective. He has been directly involved with the direction of the printmaking studio and curriculum of the Pilchuck Glass School for over 20 years. He annually teaches workshops and directs collaborative printmaking projects internationally.

• 1960 Born in America
• 1979-1983 BA Studies in Art at University of Washington, Seattle, WA
• 1983-1985 Bachelor of Fine Art in Printmaking in California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
• 1986-1988 Master of Fine Art in Printmaking at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI

GALLERY ETHER

Address: Sanoushokai Nishiazabu Building 1F-B1F,
3-24-19 Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
106-0031, Japan
Tel: +81 3 6271 5022
Open: Tue – Sat: 12:00 – 15:00 & 16:00 – 19:00
By Appointment Only: National Holidays, Sun, and Mon

Contact: Director, Jeremy Strength: jeremy.strength@galleryether.com
Japanese Staff: info@galleryether.com

Website: https://www.galleryether.com/en