Cora Ogden is a contemporary realist painter who lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina. She earned a BFA in painting from the University of South Alabama in 1972, then a MA in sculpture from the University of New Mexico. The sculpture background is an important element in her paintings which are strongly three dimensional and encourage one to step into the picture plane. After university, Cora spent ten years in the corporate world, working and commuting to Manhattan. She married, had a son, and then with the support of her husband Mills began to seriously focus on her art. The Ogdens spent many years in Memphis, Tennessee where Cora built a successful following for her work. Six years ago, she and her husband decided to return to Connecticut and discovered the shoreline area. Cora has become very involved with arts organization along the shoreline, and exhibiting in local venues. She is a founding member of the Killingworth Center for the Arts where she will be teaching still life workshops. She is an Elected Artist at the Lyme Art Association and serves on its Board of Directors. Her work is held in corporate and private collections throughout the country, particularly in the South and Northeast. “The amazing quality of light here has inspired me to paint many landscapes of the Connecticut shoreline that reflect the traditions of the American Impressionists. ”“In my work”, she says, “I create oases to provide us with a respite from an overwhelming, noisy, world. My goal is to connect with the viewer on a visceral level – first through light and color. With each painting I say ‘Quick, come and catch this moment with me before it is gone!’ Stand on the sand dunes at day’s end and feel the cooling of the air, the quiet that can be heard even above the surf. Walk past a room and see the startling beauty of sunlight on a flower, and how that light plays across the table. We react to these images physically first, then intellectually, often bringing our own wealth of memories to enrich the narrative. My work is figurative in the sense that the presence of a person is strongly felt. Perhaps someone was arranging flowers and was called away. Or, maybe they are standing with us experiencing the breeze rippling meadow grasses. Light, color, texture and pattern are my tools to guide viewers through the work and entice them beyond the surface of paint into the image itself– experiencing my reality – not simply observing it.” Most days you’ll find Cora in front of her easel. Years of studio work and discipline are evident in her mastery of drawing and the classical traditions of painting. She will insist, however, that the hard work is really passion. “I have to do this”, she says. “It is who I am.” Education 1972 BFA University of Southern Alabama, Mobile, AL1974 MA University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM Professional Experience Member, Lyme Art Association Board of Directors, Lyme, CTExhibition Chairman, LAA Elected Artist ExhibitionsLyme Art Association InstructorEast Hampton Art Society, WorkshopsWorkshops, Killingworth Center for The Arts, Killingworth, CTGuest Lecturer, Madison Art SocietyLecture and Demonstration, MPTVJuror, Annual Regional Exhibition, Madison Art SocietyJuror, Lyme Art AssociationJuror, Best of Show, Annual Members Show, Madison Art SocietyDirector’s Advisory Committee, Brooks Museum Of ArtProfile on The Arts, Interview, WNPR Radio In Memphis, TNInterviewed on Channel 10 In Memphis, TN Selected Solo Exhibitions 2005 River Views and Still Lifes, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT2004 Featured Artist, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT2003 New Paintings, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN2000 Solo Exhibition, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN1998 Recent Paintings, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN1996 Artist Introduction, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN Selected Group Exhibition 2010 Salmagundi Art Club, New York, New York2009 Annual Juried Exhibition, New Britain Museum, CT2008 87th Annual Elected Artist Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Old Lyme, CTCora Ogden and George Van Hook, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT39th Annual Juried Exhibition, New Britain Museum, CTAlong the Shoreline, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CTOpening Exhibition, Cate Charles Gallery, Stonington, CT2007 Two Women – Two Different Views, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CTFeatured Artist, Flowers in February Exhibition, Sherry French Gallery, New YorkContemporary Realism Invitational Exhibition, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa OKStill Life Invitational Exhibition, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT86th Annual Elected Artist Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT2006 Autumn Art Trail Exhibition, Chester, CTPoetry and Flowers, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NYAnnual Four Seasons Show, Sherry French Gallery, New York, NYNew England Plein Air Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CTDifferent Viewpoints -- Two Realists, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CTFlorence Griswold Museum Holiday Invitational, Lyme, CT2005 Elected Artists Exhibition, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT2004 Art of New England, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CTColors of Spring, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CTConnecticut Views, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CTTwelfth Annual Associates Show, Lyme Art Association, Lyme, CT2003 Two Person Show, Tilting At Windmills Gallery, Manchester, VT2002 Familiar Faces, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN2001 Spectrum Invitational Exhibition, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TNTransitions, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN2000 Spectrum 2000, Hunter Museum Of Art, Chattanooga, TNCelebrate Life, Memphis Cancer Foundation, Memphis, TN1999 Signature Exhibition, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TNJuxtaposition: Contemporary Arts, Crafts and Antiques, Memphis, TNNational Invitational Exhibition, Memphis College Of Art, Memphis, TN1997 Spectrum Invitational Exhibition, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TNInaugural Biennial Invitational, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TNMemphis Art Council Invitational Show, Memphis, TNTreasures from The Stacks, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TNWarner Parks Invitational Exhibition, Nashville, TNRealism ‘97, Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VA1995 Sixteenth National Exhibition, New Orleans Art Association, New Orleans, LARealism ‘95 Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VAArts Day, Memphis Council Of Art, Memphis, TN1994 Miniatures, Albers Gallery, Memphis, TNRealism ‘94, Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, West VANational Colored Pencil Society Exhibition, Memphis, TN1993 Glorious Blossoms, Invitational, Memphis Botanical Gardens, Memphis, TNMemphis Art League Juried Exhibition, Memphis, TNInternational Exhibition, National Colored Pencil Society, Birmingham, MILichterman Nature Center Invitational, Memphis, TNTwo Person Show, Madison Ave Art Gallery, Memphis, TNMasters of Colored Pencil, National Juried Exhibition, Santa Teresa, NM1992 Winter Invitational Show, Ridgefield Guild of Artists, Ridgefield, CT Selected Public Collections Independent Bank, Memphis, TNMorgan Keegan Financial, Placements in Corporate Headquarters and in: Nashville, TN, New York City, and Birmingham, ALFirst Tennessee Bank, Corporate Art Foundation, Memphis, TNDavidson Hotels Inc., Memphis TNNexAir, Memphis, TNRoosevelt Paper Company, Philadelphia, PAChristian and Small, Birmingham, ALFlorence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT Selected Private Collections Her work Is Featured In Collections in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, and Belgium. Selected Bibliography The Art Collector, August issue, 2008Review, River Views And Still Life, The Source, July 2005Review, New Works In Madison, The Source, 2004Artist Profile, Shoreline Living, May 2003Catalog, Two Person Show, Tilting At Windmills Gallery, 2003Article, At Home In Memphis Magazine, 2003Review, Recent Works, The Commercial Appeal, November 2000Catalog, Hunter Museum Spectrum Exhibition, 1999Overview of Memphis Art Scene, The Tennessean, 1999Catalog, Memphis Biennial Exhibition, Memphis College of Art, 1999Artist Interview, Memphis Business Journal, September, 1998What’s New In Memphis Art?, The Commercial Appeal, March 1997Catalog, Memphis Biennial Exhibition, Memphis College Of Art, 1997Review, Solo Exhibition, The Commercial Appeal, October, 1996Regional Art Overview, Southern Accents Magazine, September, 1996Review, Miniatures Exhibition, Memphis Business Journal, 1994The Best of Colored Pencil, Rockport Publishing, 1994