Cedric Michael Cox

Cedric Michael Cox is best known for his paintings and drawings that merge surrealism and representational abstraction. As a student at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), Cox was awarded a fellowship to study at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in 1999, he began to exhibit regionally and nationally. Cox’s paintings catapult color into rhythmic action with abstract and recognizable images that create compositions inspired by themes in music and the natural world. His work remains true to sharing Cox’s innermost self as his passion radiates from the canvas. Working under several influences, including architecture and art history, Cox’s work ranges from cubist-inspired geometric compositions to cityscapes, landscapes, and curvilinear floral-like forms, all dancing within surrealistic environments. In addition to his work in corporate collections, Cox has executed several large indoor and outdoor murals in various public and private schools, libraries, businesses, and community centers within and around the Cincinnati Region. Cox’s past exhibitions include The Contemporary Arts Center of Cincinnati, The Weston Art Gallery, The Columbus Art Museum, the Dayton Art Institute, Five Myles Gallery in Brooklyn, the Museum of Science and Industry and Gallery Guichard in Chicago, and The Taft Museum of Art. In 2019, Cox’s work was exhibited at the 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati; in 2020, he had a solo exhibition at James Ratliff Gallery in Sedona, Arizona. A 20-year retrospective exhibition was created for Caza Sikes Gallery, along with a commissioned body of work for the Kinley Hotel Cincinnati in 2020. Later that same year Cox became a member of Black Art Speaks and collaborated with other artists from the group on the “Black Lives Matter Mural” in front of Cincinnati City Hall. In 2021, a series of 64 paintings were installed for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. In 2022, Cox created his first of two large-scale paintings for the Dayton Metro Library, and that summer, he executed four outdoor murals for the community of Avondale that stand as monuments to the healing spirit of joy and community pride. This past Summer Cox was commissioned by the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden to create his largest mural to date for their new elephant house. Cox’s work has been featured in books, magazines, and on television throughout his career.