MARIA COHEN
Biography
Maria Cohen is an award-winning Israeli multidisciplinary artist based in the UK. Working across painting, research, and curatorial practice, her work explores themes of sexuality and identity through media including oil painting, installation, animation, and screen printing.
She holds an MA in Fine Art Painting from Camberwell College of Arts (2021), where she received the Art Ambassador Award. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including a solo presentation in Basel, Switzerland, and exhibitions at institutions such as the South London Gallery and the Saatchi Gallery (London Grads Now, 2021).
In January 2026, her work was featured in the Tellus Triennial at Greatorex Street Gallery with the project Fractured Self, curated by Quartz Collective. Her work is held in private collections internationally.
In June 2025, Maria co-curated and was featured in I Always See Stars Above My Head, an immersive pop-up exhibition in London with Quartz Collective, which was subsequently selected for the Tellus Residency (2026).
She has been featured as an emerging UK-based artist in Made in Bed magazine, collaborated with Urban Outfitters, and was shortlisted for the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair. She has also been endorsed for the UK Global Talent Visa. In addition to her artistic practice, Maria is the founder of Rabbits’ Choice, a platform dedicated to challenging social norms through creative expression.
Artist Statement
I am exploring sexuality through my own identity. Feminism informs my identity as a woman; the politics of this empower me to be freely explore sexuality in my practice, which itself the function of legacy.
I challenge and acknowledge aspects of sexuality through various artistic media such as paintings, drawings, printmaking, performances, and animations.
I approach my practice as an experience, a physical and almost performative moment: every piece of art, every artistic gesture, or manifest is a way to overcome embarrassment and accept vulnerability, weakness, and fragility.
To engage with different media, I explore the boundaries between the media and myself as the creator. I am interested in how emotional and physical interaction with each media can shape and influence the creative outcome.
This transformative process manifests in various forms, be it expressive drawings, random collages, vibrant digital animations, striking graffiti, or dedicated pieces paying homage to old masters' paintings.
Within this practice, I unravel my sexual identity, navigating the boundaries and traps imposed by my Russian and Jewish background. Confronting fear, I become aware of the voice buried in anxiety and frustrations, acknowledging the hidden power within. The repetition in my practice releases and controls chaos, structuring ideas and thoughts.
By challenging the viewer to confront and acknowledge their vulnerabilities, I am encouraging a deep and authentic engagement with my work.
My current project Fractured Self is centred around a multi-disciplinary performance and video installation. This project explores the intersection of sound, movement and visual art through dynamic immersive installation.
Contact
I’m open to collaborations and professional enquiries from curators, galleries, writers, and institutions. Please get in touch for exhibition opportunities, critical writing/reviews, commissions, or project proposals. I'm always looking for interesting collaborations and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.