Will Cotton (b. 1965)
Biography
Born 1965, Melrose, MA. Lives and works in New York.
Will Cotton is internationally recognized for his utopian landscapes often composed of sugary desserts inhabited by seductive female figures. Executed with flawless skill and technique, Cotton’s work is an optical delight and is formally resonant with the influences of seventeenth-century rococo paintings, the nudes of Bouguereau and Cabanel, and the classic American pin-ups of George Petty and Alberto Vargas. Cotton’s figures are often inspired by models such as burlesque performers and fellow artists from the art, film, and music worlds. The environments are painted from large dioramas that Cotton, an accomplished pastry chef, constructs in the studio from actual sweets.
Cotton received his BFA from Cooper Union, New York, and also studied at the New York Academy of Art. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe including the San Francisco Museum of Art; the Seattle Art Museum; the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany; the Hudson River Museum; the Triennale di Milano, Italy; the Musee Marmottan Monet, Paris and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana. Cotton is represented by Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY
Born 1965, Melrose, MA. Lives and works in New York.
Will Cotton is internationally recognized for his utopian landscapes often composed of sugary desserts inhabited by seductive female figures. Executed with flawless skill and technique, Cotton’s work is an optical delight and is formally resonant with the influences of seventeenth-century rococo paintings, the nudes of Bouguereau and Cabanel, and the classic American pin-ups of George Petty and Alberto Vargas. Cotton’s figures are often inspired by models such as burlesque performers and fellow artists from the art, film, and music worlds. The environments are painted from large dioramas that Cotton, an accomplished pastry chef, constructs in the studio from actual sweets.
Cotton received his BFA from Cooper Union, New York, and also studied at the New York Academy of Art. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe including the San Francisco Museum of Art; the Seattle Art Museum; the Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany; the Hudson River Museum; the Triennale di Milano, Italy; the Musee Marmottan Monet, Paris and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana. Cotton is represented by Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY