James Cohan Gallery

Profile

In 2002, James and Jane Cohan moved their midtown gallery to Chelsea where the couple’s coterie continues to earn international plaudits, toeholds at MoMA, and inclusion in the Whitney Biennial. Many artists on the Cohan roster weave historical themes into their work, often scavenging heavily from world culture. Which is not to say that the art feels of a type. Beatriz Milhazes’s vivid interpretations of Brazil seemed downright baroque compared to Brooklyn-based Fred Tomaselli’s pill collages, which veered sharply into psychedelia. The gallery’s warren of four rooms lend themselves to intimate encounters which can be especially rewarding when viewing more complex installations such as one of the cloth works from Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, who earned a Turner Prize nomination in 2004. — Tara Kilachand