Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is proud to present Paris Impossible, their first solo exhibition of paintings by Mishael Coggeshall-Burr. This body of work is inspired by his love of travel and adventure, with a particular focus on the Parisian cityscape. Artworks set in Paris hold special significance to the artist; while living in London, Coggeshall-Burr and his wife often traveled to the city, walking for days on foot in order to absorb every part of Parisian life. Last year, they returned to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary, which happened to be just weeks before the Paris riots started and Notre Dame burned. Coggeshall-Burr remarks, “memories are of a time ‘before’–now a common sentiment everywhere.” Memories become a form of solace, especially during the current global crisis.
Traveling allows us to continuously create memories of beautiful moments in our minds, but not in a sharp photographic way. Our mind interprets the sights, places, faces, experiences, even the sounds and smells, as a mosaic of shapes and colors and light – a dreamlike experience. The resulting blurred paintings that he creates attempt to capture this aesthetic. Coggeshall Burr’s artworks are similar to looking back at an old photo album, the blurred scenes draw out enough detail to make the location familiar, but still allow for our own memories to fill in the details.
This video recording captures a candid conversation between Abigail Ogilvy and Mishael Coggeshall-Burr about his artwork, process, and personal background. It was recorded during the virtual opening reception of the exhibition on May 21st.
For more information on the gallery please visit www.abigailogilvy.com. The exhibition is ongoing through July 5th.
Image courtesy of the gallery – Mishael Coggeshall-Burr Paris Impossible, 2019
