Karla Cohen
Karla was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and studied French and International Studies at Emory before moving to Boston in 2000 where she worked in education and travel, and then the higher education industry in France and Singapore from 2005-12 before returning to Boston to oversee the doctoral programs at Harvard Business School. In 2017, Karla shifted her focus to her passion, painting, and began consulting to allow for time for her creative interests and her children to take a driving role in her life. In January 2023, Karla moved to creating, drawing and painting full time.
Karla has had a number of exhibits globally over the years, at the Ascott in Singapore, at INSEAD in Fontainebleau France, and most recently at the RW Norton Gallery and Longview Museum of Fine Arts in the US. Her next show is at the Emerald Arts Center in Springfield, Oregon. She’s also won a number of awards from international competitions and juried exhibitions. Karla paints primarily using acrylic on canvas but also produces new work with photo blending and digital tools to enhance visuals. Her focus is bold colors, vibrant compositions, and she draws much inspiration from Masters like Matisse, Cezanne, and Modigliani as the paints landscapes, still lives, and portraits—and sometimes deviates into the abstract to stretch her skills and boundaries. Above all she aims to elicit a sense of joy and appreciation for the beauty in life around us when encountering her work. Her goal is to help shift perspectives and embrace the vibrancy of life in sobriety with her five plus years in recovery and advocacy for mental health and wellness for all.  For Karla, art is a space to nurture serenity and peace.
