Artist Statement
Amber Cobb is drawn to the intricate contradictions within human nature. Starting with the body as a point of departure, she explores the physical and psychological responses these conflicts evoke. Sculptures and paintings composed using materials and objects intricately woven into our daily lives examine the primal and sensual nature of sexuality. Mattresses and furniture stripped of their original function reemerge as new forms. The materials she uses have an undeniable and unapologetic feminine touch, but they do not align with traditional norms associated with the domestic. Here, the sexualized body has extended to consumption. Layered with thick coatings of synthetic materials, visceral textures drip over surfaces that are, at once, grotesque and decorative; notions of abjection and attraction are challenged within the form itself and are a product of the subconscious.
In recent inquiries, Cobb examines the subtleties of body language through an illustrated typeface. Somewhat biomorphic and presented as abstracted hieroglyphs, each letter possesses a distinct shape tailored to fit within a system of grids. When translated through paintings and sculptures, the typeface adopts gestures and nonverbal modes of communication. Pastel hues reminiscent of candy enrobe phallic protrusions. Playfully awkward, they rebel against the system's confines, exposing the flaws of preconceived definitions. Like our bodies, these forms expand, swell, droop, and elongate, leaving us to decipher and uncover the implicit messages conveyed between the lines.
Bio
Amber Cobb is an American artist living and working in Denver, CO. Cobb received her M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011. Since then, her work has been exhibited in institutions both nationally and internationally and featured in. featured in the Cambridge Scholars Publishing, The New York Times, Frieze, and Sculpture Magazine. Selected exhibitions include Pallatable Relations at Hilario Galgura, Mexico City, MX, The Dreamers Dilemma at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art Boulder, CO, Turn the Page at Daniela Elbahara Galeria, Mexico City, MX, Negotiating Spaces at David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO and Breakthroughs at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, CO.
Representation
Daniela Elbahara Galeria Mexico City, Mexico.