Bernard Cohen studied at the Slade School of Art from 1954 to 1956, arriving there from Central Saint Martins and departing on a French Government Scholarship that took him through France, Spain, and Italy. He returned with the outlines of a practice that would grow into one of the most distinctive bodies of British[1] abstract painting of the 1960s: dense, overlapping gestures that seem to accumulate rather than compose, built up across large canvases in a process closer to improvisation than design.
Key facts
- Born
- 1933, British[1]
- Works held in
- 13 museums
- Wikipedia
- View article
Biography
His first solo exhibition, at Gimpel Fils in London in 1958, placed him in a generation that included his brother Harold Cohen, also a painter and later a pioneer of computer-generated art. Bernard Cohen showed at the Venice Biennale in 1966 as part of the British[1] pavilion, and his 1972 retrospective at the Hayward Gallery ("Paintings and Drawings 1959-1971[1]") surveyed more than a decade of sustained formal investigation. Work from this period entered the collections of the Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
From 1988 to 2000 he served as Slade Professor and Director of the Slade School of Art at University College London, a position that shaped a generation of British[1] artists. Teaching had always been central to his career; through the 1960s and 1970s he worked at Ealing School of Art, Chelsea College of Art and Design, the Royal College of Art, and the University of New Mexico.
A spotlight display at Tate Britain in 2017 and 2018 placed his work in front of a new audience, consolidating his reputation as a persistent and serious figure in postwar British[1] abstraction.
Timeline
- 1933Born in Britain.
- 1954Began studying at the Slade School of Art in London.
- 1956Left the Slade School of Art on a French Government Scholarship, travelling through France, Spain, and Italy.
- 1958Had his first solo exhibition at Gimpel Fils in London.
- 1966Exhibited at the Venice Biennale as part of the British pavilion.
- 1972A retrospective of his work, "Paintings and Drawings 1959-1971", was held at the Hayward Gallery.
- 1988Appointed Slade Professor and Director of the Slade School of Art at University College London.
- 2000Stepped down as Slade Professor and Director of the Slade School of Art at University College London.
- 2017His work was featured in a spotlight display at Tate Britain, running into 2018.
Notable Works
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Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bernard Cohen known for?
Bernard Cohen is a British[1] abstract painter. His work is part of a distinctive body of British abstract painting from the 1960s. He showed at the Venice Biennale in 1966 as part of the British pavilion.What was Bernard Cohen's art style?
Bernard Cohen's practice grew into one of the most distinctive bodies of British[1] abstract painting of the 1960s. His style features dense, overlapping gestures that seem to accumulate rather than compose. These are built up across large canvases in a process closer to improvisation than design.When was Bernard Cohen born?
Bernard Cohen was born in 1933[1].
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Bernard Cohen.
- [1] wikipedia Wikipedia: Bernard Cohen Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [2] book guggenheim-guggenheimintern1964allo Used for: biography.
- [3] book guggenheim-newhorizonsiname00denn Used for: biography.
- [4] book guggenheim-philipguston00gust Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-17. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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