Layered presents the mixed media works of Rachel Gisela Cohen and Elise Thompson, two artists who create elaborate microcosms that simultaneously conceal and reveal the inner workings of their multidimensional -scapes. Merging positive and negative space through color, texture and shape, Cohen and Thompson push the boundaries of their non-traditional materials.

Cohen’s collages of vibrant sequin-encrusted chromatic abstract paintings become an ecosystem of their own where a metamorphosis of various forms takes place. Relying on the unexpected coupling of paint and fabric, she creates a hybrid medium that comments on the coexistence of natural and manufactured environments.

Thompson’s sheer, layered surfaces call on the intricacies of transparency through varying degrees of obscured visibility. She utilizes censoring effects to withhold, disguise or outright obstruct and creates perceived or physical voids that disrupt and expose. These works teeter between a need to control and a sense of vulnerability, equally sharing with and depriving the viewer.

Whether deliberate or automatic, the bared layers in these works create a labyrinth of depth, alternatively withholding and divulging, leaving a sense of restriction and longing. The often unlikely paring of color and textures generate a tension that leads to questioning and contemplation allowing one to get lost among the complexities.