SAVE THE DATE | OPENING RECEPTION 9.12.2026, 5-7PM
New works by Charlotte Cosgrove
Charlotte Cosgrove | 2026 Artist Statement:
My drawings are about the observations I make of the world we live in, and my deep affinity for, and personal connection to the Maine landscape. My works are narrative. They have a fairytale quality with an element of humor and yet an undercurrent of unease. To me they’re little soap operas that are odd, edgy and furtive. Each scene contains a reality coupled with the unexpected. There is ambiguity. This uncertainty hopefully provokes thought, and perhaps a different interpretation for each viewer.
I begin a drawing with a particular idea in mind, however vague. Sometimes it is suggested by the news or my surroundings, and sometimes it’s inspired by the character or personality I see in the quirky objects that I collect. Recollections, my photography, and years of teaching art and art history all come into play. The drawings are not premeditated; they are developed by changing and juxtaposing objects and grounds until I find a unity and discover the associations that crystalize the image that I’m after. The process is a give and take - a dialogue - and through this process I create images that echo the absurdities of daily life, and the jarring political and cultural conflicts that we all live with. The content is personal; its real, its imaginary, its speculative. As an artist, I need a drawing to have feeling and mystery for it to stay alive.
