Barnett Cohen originally received formal theatrical training, with an emphasis on breath and vocal work, at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He then embarked on a career as a visual artist, making performances and paintings that collectively serve as meditations on the space between thought and self and between self and the body. He has exhibited work and presented performances at numerous venues including Redcat, JOAN, LAXART, Pieter, Neutra VDL House, Mast on Fig, 365 Mission, Human Resources (all in Los Angeles), JDJ (New York), Vox Populi (Philadelphia), City Limits (Oakland). In 2021, he will present a new suite of paintings at JDJ. Cohen received a BA in English from Vassar College & an MFA from CalArts in 2014; he attended Skowhegan in 2013, MacDowell in 2019, and was nominated for the Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist Grant in 2020