Cristopher Cozier (born 1959, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) is a multidisciplinary, contemporary artist and cultural critic based in Trinidad. He left Trinidad to study in the United States in 1983, and has been exhibiting in and outside of the Caribbean since. Cozier is the co-director of Alice Yard, an arts initiative in Trinidad and Tobago.[1][2]
Cristopher Cozier | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 (age 64–65) |
| Nationality | Trinidadian |
| Education | BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art MFA, Rutgers University |
| Awards | Prince Claus Fund (2013) Pollock-Krasner Foundation (2004) Pérez Prize (2023) |
Early life and Education
editCristopher Cozier grew up in Port of Spain, where he lives and works. Cozier studied painting at the Royal Victoria Institute with M. P. Alladin. He studied graphic design at the John S. Donaldson Technical Institute. In 1983, he relocated to the United States to earn his BFA in painting from the painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. Soon after, he acquired an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, New Jersey. In 1988, Cristopher Cozier returned to Trinidad and Tobago.[3]
Work
editCristopher Cozier works with drawing, prints, sculpture, video, and installation to comment on the impact of colonial economies and transatlantic histories around the world from a Caribbean perspective.[4][5][6] He has been investigating and basing his practice on the writings and perspectives of Trinidadian historian C.L.R James.[1]
In 2005, filmmaker Richard Fung released the documentary Uncomfortable: The Art of Cristopher Cozier.[7] He was an Artist-in-Residence at Dartmouth College in the fall of 2007.[8][9] As a writer, Cozier has written about the work of Nicole Awai (2004) and video artist Maksaens Denis (2005) for BOMB Magazine.[10][11]
His first solo show in the United States was held at David Krut Projects, a South African gallery in Chelsea, in which he shown drawings and prints of the colonial architecture in the West Indies that speaks to the colonial heritage in the Caribbean.[12][13] In 2024, Cozier returns to the gallery for a solo presentation that integrates works on paper, sound and vision.[14]
Cozier has participated in the Havana Biennial, Cuba; 10th Berlin Biennale (2018), Germany; 14th Sharjah Biennial (2019),[15] in the United Arab Emirates; the Liverpool Biennial (2021);[1] United Kingdom; 6th Prospect New Orleans, on view at the Contemporary Art Center (2024), Louisiana; among others.[16]
Tropical Night series (2006–2014)
editTropical Nights is a large series of 268 works on paper that reflect on post-colonial histories in the Caribbean and its relation to the artists' own life experience. The work is in the holdings of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.[17]
Collections
editCozier works are featured in the collections of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida;[18] and the Museum of Modern Art, New York;[17] among others.
Awards and Recognition
editCristopher Cozier is the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2004),[2] he is a Prince Claus Fund Laureate (2013),[19] a winner of the Pérez Prize (2023).[20]
Further reading
editAcevedo-Yates, Carla; Museum of Contemporary Art; Institute of Contemporary Art; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, eds. (2022). Forecast form: art in the Caribbean diaspora, 1990s-today. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. ISBN 978-1-63681-061-4.[21]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Christopher Cozier". Liverpool Biennial. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ a b "Christopher Cozier: "Itinerant Acts and Suspended Form"". Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ Paul, Annie (2001-07-02). "Chris Cozier: a state of independence". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ Dees, Sasha (2015-04-07). "Christopher Cozier". AFRICANAH.ORG. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ Paul, Annie (2001-07-02). "Chris Cozier: a state of independence". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "BOMB Magazine | Christopher Cozier". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Uncomfortable: The Art of Christopher Cozier | Video Data Bank". www.vdb.org. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Christopher Cozier | Caribbean Art and Visual Culture". scholar.library.miami.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Christopher Cozier". kmacmuseum. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "BOMB Magazine | Nicole Awai by Christopher Cozier". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "BOMB Magazine | Maksaens Denis". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Artnexus". www.artnexus.com. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ editors (2013-06-06). "Christopher Cozier". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Christopher Cozier: I Find Myself Wandering/Wondering". artguide.artforum.com. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "people - Sharjah Art Foundation". v1.sharjahart.org. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Prospect-6 | Artists". www.prospect6.org. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ a b Inniss, Shelly-Ann (2024-05-01). "Art buzz: Chris Cozier at MoMA (May/Jun 2024)". Caribbean Beat Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Pérez Art Museum Miami receives $25m donation from its namesake benefactor". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Christopher Cozier". Prince Claus Fund. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ "Pérez Art Museum Miami Celebrates Art of the Party presented by Tiffany & Co.; Announces $25 Million Gift from Jorge M. Pérez and 2023 Pérez Prize Recipient Christopher Cozier • Pérez Art Museum Miami". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Museum of Contemporary Art; Institute of Contemporary Art; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, eds. (2022). Forecast form: art in the Caribbean diaspora, 1990s-today. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. ISBN 978-1-63681-061-4.