Ryan Cosbert

Ryan Cosbert is an African-American conceptual artist of Haitian and Guyanese descent. Cosbert’s work approaches and focuses on her personal experiences, self-expression, political issues and historical narratives.  She is interested in the consequences of subjugation and oppression along with their historical and generational impact on the Black community. By including a mixture of sand from Guyana and Haiti in her work, Cosbert brings together time and space - three homelands and millions of years that mark the formation of the sand. The geometrically balanced compositions in her work stems from memories of the patterned floors and ceilings in her childhood home.  Cosbert gains a sense of control using the square, grid format throughout her work to apply what she calls “tiles” which create a geometrical balance. She forms different layers using the tiles, paints, and physical objects giving the work more depth and a three-dimensional composition.  Cosbert has a BFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she currently lives and works. 

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