As a Sonoma County based Architect/ Builder for over 40 years Alan B. Cohen has always been attracted to contrasts; new and old, created and found, weathered & rough vs. smooth and highly finished.  In his architectural work Alan often incorporated salvaged objects in new buildings, finding that it added character.

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His sculptural art fabrications are informed by that aesthetic and start with driftwood and other flotsam & jetsam he finds washed up on Sonoma and Mendocino County beaches. These objects generally speak to him about a direction or suggest an idea. He then transforms these materials in his Sea Ranch or Healdsburg shop. He adds old fishing tackle, rusted wire, tools, brushes, and other recycled objects to create birds, underwater creatures, masks and abstract pieces. Some parts are often left rough and unfinished, others sanded and oiled or stained.  Some pieces are simple and elegant, others whimsical and fantastical.

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Alan has been surrounded by art his entire life. Growing up in Princeton, NJ,  his father made fine wood furniture in the style of George Nakashima. His mother was a sculptor producing abstract and figurative pieces in stone, bronze and wood.  In high school and college Alan worked in construction and cabinet shops and received his Architect and Contractor licenses in California shortly after graduating from the University of Michigan.  Alan’s wife is an accomplished painter and sculptor whose work has been featured in Healdsburg galleries.  Since designing and building a home and studio in The Sea Ranch in 2022, Alan has pursued driftwood art fabrications in earnest. 

The artist