Lana Denina Cohen is a French-Beninese artist whose paintings stand at the threshold of the intimate and the mythic. Born in Benin to a French father and a Beninese mother, and now based in Montreal, she creates lush, figurative worlds that center the emotional lives of women—particularly women of color—depicting them not as muses or metaphors, but as sacred subjects in full possession of their softness, rage, desire, and memory.
Her universe unfolds as a language of symbols and gestures—braids, flowers, glances, and silences that speak of resilience and longing. Each figure inhabits a space between dream and history, where ancestral tenderness meets the violence of the gaze. In a world that consumes women’s bodies but ignores their spirits, Lana paints survival as poetry and tenderness as resistance.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, Art Basel Miami, and the United Nations, and she has collaborated with Roc Nation. Through these experiences, her art continues to transcend borders and resonate with diverse audiences worldwide.
At the core of her practice lies a commitment to portraying the modern feminine condition—its beauty, contradictions, and silent strength. She explores themes of love, technology, mental health, and selfhood, offering a contemporary reflection on how women navigate visibility and vulnerability in the digital age.
Lana Denina Cohen is currently pursuing a BA of Fine Arts in Painting at Concordia University in Montreal.