BIO
Allyson Burke Coffren was born and raised in northern Kentucky. She graduated magna cum laude from Savannah College of Art & Design, and afterward worked for their Exhibitions department in Savannah, GA. During this time she painted many murals and commissions as well as her first bull. She then moved to Charlotte, NC and worked for the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art as the Exhibitions Manager. In her spare time she continued painting and began to use bovine as the subjects for personal storylines. In Charlotte, she met and married her husband and had their 1st child. Soon after becoming pregnant with their 2nd, they moved to New Orleans, LA where she started painting full-time. Though Coffren enjoyed being in Louisiana she missed being near family, so they moved to northern Kentucky where she gave birth to her 3rd child. Here she not only paints but works for the University of Cincinnati's Art Collection.
Coffren has always been creatively driven by the idea of simultaneous order and chaos, and strives to achieve that feeling by having duality and mixed emotions even in her seemingly traditional work. She collects her reference photos at various times, but mostly during her travels. She then collages the images in a photo editor to create a digital reference of her concept. Her style can be identified by rich saturated color and distinct brush strokes layered upon one another.
Education
2004-2009 Savannah College of Art and Design
2016 Weekend Seminar, Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts Presentation,Charlotte, NCWeekend Seminar, Where Artifact Meets Exhibition: Preservation and Exhibit Design,Charlotte, NC
Awards
2021 Best of Show, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, OH
Honorable Mention, Art in the Park, Bellevue, KY
2014 Honorable Mention, CLT Arts, Charlotte, NC
2004 Gold Key, Scholastics, KY
Silver Key, Scholastics, KY
Exhibitions
2023
Summer Fair, Coney Island Cincinnati OH
Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, OH
2022
Big Art, The Barn, Cincinnati, OH
DBL Show, Covington, KY
Bourbon Barrel Walk, Newport, KY
Art After Hours, Campbell County Public Library, FT Thomas, KY
2021
Team Kentucky Gallery , Kentucky Capital, KY
FTC Annual Fundraiser , Fort Thomas Coffee, FT Thomas, KY
20th Anniversary Art in the Park , Beach Park, Bellevue, KY
Day Off Cincinnati, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, OH
Art After Hours, Campbell County Public Library, Fort Thomas, KY
2019
Art After Hours, Campbell County Public Library, FT Thomas, KY
2017
Another Way of Seeing, New Orleans, LA
Collective Introspective, Pop Up, New Orleans, LA
2015
Charlotte Artist, Orange Olive, Charlotte, NC
Untitled Group Show, Canvas Tattoo & Art Gallery, Charlotte NC
2014
Home Grown 2014 , Cornelius Art Center, Charlotte, NC
Composition of Living & Beginning, Gallery Twenty-Two, Charlotte, NC
Art After Hours, Campbell County Public Library, FT Thomas, KY
Human Thoughts & Feelings of Bovine , Heist Brewery, Charlotte, NC
Piercings, Canvas Tattoo & Art Gallery, Charlotte NC
2013
Ethnic Backgrounds , Birdsong Brewery, Charlotte NC
Group Show , Heist Brewery & Barrel Arts, Charlotte, NC
Looking at Nature , Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Grand Opening,Group Show , Paper Cut Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Greatest Asset, Dish , Charlotte, NC