In The Beginning

The Change Series is a trip down memory lane. My mother, Gerda, was an artist, primarily a painter and less of a sculptor. At one point, she designed cutout paintings: large, jigsaw-like abstract puzzles with shapes that suggested figurative inferences. The cut-outs were made from ⅛” Masonite deftly cut with a saber saw. The individual pieces were sanded, then roller-painted, and finally glued onto a backing also made of Masonite. The final perimeter shape organically followed the outline of the organic abstract pieces. I was tasked with cutting out, sanding, and painting the pieces, earning well-deserved pocket money for something I enjoyed. I mixed the acrylic paint colors suitable for rollers from scratch, using acrylic medium and powdered pigment. I left the paint and rollers in plastic bags between the multiple coats.

The three cutouts below are paintings by my mother, which I worked on before attending St. Martin’s School of Art in London. These paintings, along with a wide-ranging series of her cutouts, are the foremost inspiration for the Change Series.

Cutout mother and child by Gerda Cohen

Cut-out painting with floating pieces by Gerda Cohen

Cut-out painting and mother and child sculpture by Gerda Cohen