94. FERNANDA COHEN
“My ideas come from my personal perception of things around me,” says illustrator Fernanda Cohen. “We can be much more interesting when no one is around.” This perspective is evident in her illustrations, in which she starts off small in concept and maximizes the use of facial expressions to communicate her ideas.

“Hot Dog and I” graced the pre-invitation postcards she sent out for her exhibit, The Food Affair Series Show in Tribeca, N.Y. The concept reflects Cohen’s introverted working style in its bare, honest contemplation of man’s relationship with food—in fact, all of the works in the show examine this relationship.

“Each element of The Food Affair Series attempts to project that rather disproportional state of mind experienced only by those who either fall in love or finally delight in their ultimate craving,” Cohen says. Her pre-invitation preceeded the formal gallery invitation. “I found the concept of a pre-invitation both funny and absurd,” she notes, but it paid off. “The combination was a good investment in terms of advertising: People remembered and showed up. Some people even put it on their fridge to help them lose weight—go figure!” Marcy Slane