AvRaam Cohen | Collection

“I am fascinated by the challenge of taking a flat, two-dimensional concept or image and imbuing it with physical volume, shadow, and light. Inspired by the natural world and the rich history of human craftsmanship, I build objects that ask the viewer to slow down, look through a different lens, and map their own memories onto the physical form.”

AvRaam Cohen

“Color has an evocative, immediate power.
In my sculptures, whether they claim their own space on the floor or project from a wall, vibrant and stratified hues are used to create an optical dialogue, clear and striking from afar, yet intricate and layered up close.
My art is a direct continuation of thirty years spent thinking in three dimensions.”

Born in Tel Aviv in 1968, AvRaam Cohen has spent his life navigating the space between how things are engineered and how they are felt. His formal training in industrial design began in Holon, Israel, and culminated in a Master’s degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. A formative chapter of his career was spent in the New York studio of design pioneer Gaetano Pesce, where Cohen immersed himself in cold casting and the exploration of unorthodox materials. Though he spent the next chapter of his career building Vertex Product Development Inc.,
a successful design and engineering firm established in Great Neck, NY, in 1998, Cohen’s passion for raw artistic creation never waned. Today, he seamlessly blends the strict disciplines of manufacturing with the intuitive freedoms of sculpture, casting, and free-form modeling from his studio in Great Neck.

The work asks viewers to consider the space between power and insecurity, dominance and vulnerability. The tone is intentionally humorous and slightly absurd, reflecting the complicated nature of narcissism itself. While the piece focuses on the extreme need for admiration, it also quietly points back at the viewer.
Because beneath the humor sits a familiar truth: Most of us enjoy praise, and most of us respond to admiration. So yes, The Narcissist Throne mocks the inflated self-image. But it also asks: Where is the line between confidence and dependence on praise? And, if given the chance, would any of us sit in it?

Forever Playfool

Forever Playfool is a two-sided sculpture portraying the same face on both sides, each with a different, lighthearted expression. The playful duality of the piece captures a person caught in two moments of foolish delight, reminding us that humor and spontaneity have no age limit.
The work’s title intentionally uses the double “o” in Playfool to emphasize the idea of embracing foolishness as a form of wisdom, a conscious decision to remain curious, joyful, and unburdened by self-importance.
Crafted from acrylic, the sculpture invites viewers to shift their perspective, literally and figuratively. When seen from an angle or up close, the image blurs into abstraction, concealing its subject. Only when viewed directly from the front does the face come into clear focus. This visual play mirrors the theme of perception itself: sometimes clarity arrives only when we stop overanalyzing and simply look with a sense of wonder.
Ultimately, Forever Playfool is a gentle reminder not to take ourselves too seriously, to stay forever foolish, forever playful.

The Narcissist Throne

‘The Narcissist Throne’ imagines a traditional seat of power through the lens of ego and self-importance. Shaped like a curved tongue, the chair sits somewhere between comfort and confrontation. The top is covered in deep red velvet, suggesting the softness and sensual feel of a real tongue, while the underside features a lighter pink velvet to highlight its anatomical reference.

A single line of button tufting runs through the center, echoing the natural crease found on an actual tongue. Around the outer edge is a thick cast silicone border, fastened with round upholstery nails. Embedded in this border are short phrases and exaggerated compliments a narcissist needs and loves to hear, statements such as “None dare compare,” “Perfection in you,” “Immortal in glory,” “All eyes on you,” and “You deserve all the credit.” These words act as decoration, satire, and fuel an endless loop of validation.

Spiral of Resilience

I created Spiral of Resilience as a personal reflection on the enduring strength of the Jewish people, a theme that has long resonated with me but took on a new urgency after the events of October 7, 2023.
At the heart of this piece is the Magen David, the Star of David, a symbol of Jewish identity and perseverance, rendered in a deep blue with a textured finish that evokes both the weight of history and the hope of survival. Within its center lies a spiraling form, cast in fiery oranges and reds, representing the cyclical nature of persecution
that has shadowed Jewish communities for centuries, a spiral that is both ancient and painfully contemporary.

The orange spiral is the soul of this piece, embodying the resilience that defines our story. Its vibrant, molten colors speak to the intensity of our collective journey, the trials, the suffering, and the unyielding spirit that has carried us through. For me, the spiral also holds a deeply personal tribute to the Bibas family children, whose innocence and suffering have become a heartbreaking symbol of recent atrocities. The fiery orange reflects the warmth of their spirits and the red spiraling hair whorl of the Bibas babies , an image that has etched itself into my heart. The spiral captures their story within the larger narrative of Jewish endurance: a cycle of loss and hope, of innocence caught in the flames of conflict, yet forever a part of our shared history.

“My sculptures represent the culmination of thirty years of experience in product design, which I utilize to translate 2D images into captivating 3D forms. I am particularly drawn to reinterpreting light and shadow from these images, striving to infuse my sculptures with depth and dimension. By employing a diverse range of molding techniques and materials, my creations often draw inspiration from the artistry of others and the beauty of the natural world.”

Ophelia

In reimagining Sarah Bernhardt’s iconic 1880 sculpture of Ophelia, I employed a technique that plays with light and shadow, sculpting the piece to feature pronounced textures.

This approach creates a landscape of highs and lows across Ophelia’s figure, enhancing the visual depth and bringing to life new layers of her form.

For the color palette, I chose to hand-paint the sculpture with the rich, warm hues reminiscent of an autumn garden.
This application of color not only complements the natural environment often associated with Ophelia but also introduces a stark contrast to the character’s inherent sorrow, infusing the work with a sense of natural beauty.

My objective with this reinterpretation was to encapsulate the ephemeral beauty of autumn, where everything is beautiful yet fleeting, mirroring Ophelia’s own tragic narrative. This blend of detailed shadowing and the gentle, fading colors of fall aims to evoke a poignant reflection on beauty, sorrow, and the transience of life.

Perfect No Love

‘Perfect No Love’ is an exploration into the imperfections that define love and human relationships.
This piece is composed of a 3 x 3 grid of tiles, each featuring a unique background color cast in epoxy and a vibrant, textured heart at its center.
These hearts are not singular entities but are intricately formed from numerous small hearts, which the artist refers to as a “Bouquet of Hearts.” At first glance, the arrangement exudes harmony and symmetry, creating an illusion of perfection. However, upon closer examination, one heart is deliberately misaligned, disrupting the uniformity and underscoring the notion that true perfection is elusive, especially in love.

This theme is further emphasized by the subtle imperfections present in each tile, variations in color, surface blemishes, or the organic irregularities of the heart shapes.
This interplay between order and imperfection invites the viewer to contemplate the duality of love, its beauty and its flaws, its predictability and its chaos.
From afar, the artwork appears balanced, but close inspection reveals its intricate nuances, much like the layers of complexity within relationships. Even the title, with its grammatical imperfection, serves as a deliberate statement, reinforcing the idea that imperfection is intrinsic to the experience of love.

Heart Strings

‘Heart Strings’ intertwines symbolism with intricate craftsmanship, embodying a dynamic exploration of emotion and form. Crafted from custom-cast silicon rubber bands, metal rods, Laxen, and an aluminum base, this sculpture radiates with a fusion of materials. At its core, a 3D heart shape emerges from a flat Laxen cut, transformed by metal rods that pierce
through its contours, creating compelling depth and dimension. Layered within this framework, red rubber bands stretch between the rods, evoking the tension and resilience akin to taut muscle fibers. Polished aluminum caps delicately adorn the ends of these rods, lending a luminous, jewel-like quality to the piece.
‘Heart Strings’ invites reflection on the metaphorical ties that bind us emotionally, like the interconnected strands of a heart’s muscle; each element resonates with the theme of strength and vulnerability. This sculpture captures the essence of the human connection and the profound echoes of our innermost feelings, echoing through its meticulously crafted details.

Undine

I have always had a great admiration for the talent needed to be able to carve a 3D representation of the human body, or any other object for that matter, from a solid block of marble or stone.
The planning, the vision of seeing the subject matter in the block ahead of time, and, of course, the execution are nothing less than admirable.
This piece is my interpretation of a small section of an “Undine Rising from the Fountain”, a marble statue made by the American sculptor Chauncey Bradley Ives in 1880-82. This is my interpretation of this great work.

Blueprint of Curiosity

‘Blueprint of Curiosity’ is serving as a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci’s insatiable curiosity and groundbreaking genius.
At the heart of this piece is the Vitruvian Man, which I’ve rendered to emphasize the harmony between art and science, something da Vinci mastered. Surrounding this iconic figure, I’ve brought his detailed studies of anatomy, such as embryos, hearts, hands, and legs, into sculpture form.
You’ll also find some of his visionary mechanical inventions, like his early concepts for flight, brought to life in three dimensions.
To further connect viewers with da Vinci’s thought process, I’ve included three-dimensional representations of his mirrored handwriting and notes.
This sculpture is more than just an homage to da Vinci’s legacy; it’s an exploration of the intersection between art, science, and invention, themes that have always fascinated me. Through “Blueprint of Curiosity,” I hope to inspire others to reflect on the boundless power of curiosity and the drive to understand the world around us, much like Leonardo did.

website: www.avraam.gallery
Instagram: @avraam_nyc
email: Avraam.gallery@gmail.com