Will Cotton

Born in 1965 in the USA, Will Cotton lives and works in New York. He belongs to a generation of American painters who have taken figurative painting in an entirely new direction. In his studio, Cotton constructs giant confectionery-based assemblages, such as gingerbread houses, cake mountains, and chocolate seas, opening the door to the creation of a new utopian reality. His works explore the notions of temptation and excess.

Cotton's recent paintings and drawings of cowboys, unicorns, and mermaids, presented in the Templon New York exhibition "Between Instinct and Reason" depict fantasy realms that transcend Hollywood fairy tales. His trident-wielding mermaids appear as manipulative narcissists and seductive sirens who lure macho Marlboro men, when not attempting to tame wild unicorns, to their demise. Cotton casts his characters into dreamlike, confection-filled scenes reminiscent of a decadent "Venetian Hour".

The Hunt 

In this initial collaboration with Graphicstudio, Cotton reimagined his painting The Hunt as a one-color direct gravure. A testament to his skill as a master draftsman, the print highlights the visual qualities of the gravure process, its sharp detail, rich surface, and broad tonal range.

About the Artist  

Will Cotton was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, and raised in New Paltz, New York. He has a BFA from Cooper Union in New York City, and also studied at the Beaux Arts in Rouen, France, and the New York Academy of Art. 

Cotton is represented by Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, New York, and Brussels; Baldwin Gallery, Aspen; and Ronchini Gallery, London. His paintings have been shown at San Francisco Museum of Art (2000); Seattle Art Museum (2002); Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany (2004); Hudson River Museum, New York (2007); Triennale di Milano, Italy (2007); Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, France (2008); Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba (2009); Albright-Knox Art Gallery, New York (2009); Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (2013); Virginia MOCA (2013); Orlando Museum of Art (2017); Louvre Lens, France (2023), among others. 

In 2010, he served as the artistic director for the California Gurls music video for pop singer Katy Perry. His work is in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; Seattle Art Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, Washington; Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; Orlando Museum of Art, Florida; and the Phillbrook Museum of Art, Oklahoma, as well as many prominent private collections. Cotton lives and works in New York. 

 

Further Resources

Artist's Site: willcotton.com

Printmaking + Sculpture Terms

Printmaking Glossary

Sculpture Glossary

Sales

For sales, or more information about an edition, please contact Graphicstudio at (813) 974-3503 or gsoffice@usf.edu.

Copyright + Reproduction

Images of the artwork are jointly owned by the artist and Graphicstudio. Reproduction of any kind including electronic media must be expressly approved by Graphicstudio.