The Blue Scarf and Other Drawings

Robert Thomson Gallery, Minneapolis 1994

“Coggins’s drawings have the same dreamlike strangeness that Odilon Redon’s have. The theatrical and at times decorative are lifted by the persistent sensation of mystery and beauty.”

Doug Hanson, The Window (On the Arts, Literature and Society), Minneapolis 1994

“Coggins produces a room of large drawings that together read like clues. By massing the images in a wall-sized grid, he enhances their visual impact and narrative potential. Most depict iconic forms—a maple leaf, entwined birds, a vase, an apple, lips, a blue scarf. Some allude to art history—a Cycladic sculpture and a pair of nudes. Others suggest psychological states, including a drawing of the dead-end corner of a black room, or have autobiographical implications, such as a mask-like self-portrait.”

Mary Abbe, Minneapolis Star Tribune 1994