Artweeks with Jo Cohn

As part of Oxfordshire Artweeks, the county’s largest arts festival, our Burford Gallery is hosting a select number of our artists across the week, from Saturday 9th May. We are delighted to be joined by sixteen of our artists throughout the week, demonstrating how they bring their impressive pieces to life, whilst shedding light upon their practice and answering any questions you may have about their work.

On Sunday 10th May, join us in store to meet artist Jo Cohn between 1pm and 4pm, as she works on a taku hon demonstration that she is recognised for.

Jo Cohn is a multidisciplinary artist, working across print, painting, and installation. Recognised for her distinctive and luminous style, we are delighted that she will be joining us during Artweeks to demonstrate the process behind her takuhon pieces, and how this process can be adapted to print from homemade printing plates which incorporate the textures of leaves and flowers.

Takuhon is an ancient method of recording surface textures using tampo and ink - a practice that dates back over two thousand years, and was originally used to record details of ancient shrines, and by fishermen to prove the size of their catch. Jo builds her works by printing these impressions in delicate layers onto gold leaf forms, creating pieces that feel both tactile and quietly radiant.

For her Midas series, Jo draws upon the rich history of Burford itself. She records the textures of ancient Cotswold stone paving at the Tolsey, a 15th-century building on the High Street, once a market house where traders gathered and paid tolls. The stone beneath, formed millions of years ago from Jurassic limestone, carries within it the imprint of ancient seas, its subtle patterns shaped by long-forgotten currents.

Through this thoughtful process, Jo brings together place, material, and time, capturing the enduring character of the landscape in a way that feels both grounded and quietly transformative.