SE Cooper Contemporary is honored to present Blonde on Blonde, an exhibition of new works by Tess Bilhartz and Margaux Ogden.  On view July 12th through August 30th, 2025.  A reception for the artists will be held on July 12th from 1-4pm.

Blonde on Blonde

Released nearly 60 years ago, Blonde on Blonde is one of the greatest albums of all time. Our Blonde on Blonde started as a friendship, a way to live, a way to survive. As roommates, as studiomates, as a one-time design duo. We painted bathrooms, decorated weed dispensaries and wrapped wooden chairs in yarn for money. We filmed rambling critiques, late at night, which we’d post on our grad school’s facebook page. We made a zine to commemorate those posts. We went to Marfa. We went to Miami. We went to Portland. We drove from Boston to Houston in a recalled car. Ate as much Mexican food as we could along the way. We drank margaritas. Stopped at a casino, a museum, a karaoke bar, several gross motels. We opened multiple credit cards to pay for things. We went to plays – bad ones, good ones – a ballet we had to leave immediately, comedy shows, bars, bookstores, parks. Of course, we went to Bob Dylan concerts, together and separately. We got him tattooed on our sides, together. We made fun of those tattoos, together. We painted side by side, sharing a studio wall, for over a decade. An informal call and response. Not actively responding to each other, but observing each other’s work closely, over time. The most important kind of looking: sustained. There have been days when we work simultaneously, blasting Bob. Or weeks when we’re ships passing in the night. We’ve each admitted to entering the other’s studio when sick of looking at our own work. Needing to look at something different. And these worlds couldn’t be more different, despite being birthed within feet of each other. Kind of like siblings. When you see them side by side you look for their similarities, but when you meet them separately they could be from different planets. We’re inviting you to get a glimpse of how the siblings look side by side.  Some say the title Blonde on Blonde was a riff on Malevich’s White on White painting from 1918. Some say it was inspired by Brecht on Brecht, a series of Brecht poems and writings performed chronologically in the ‘60s. Some say it’s an acronym for his name, BOB. One great thing about the studio is the ability to transform. To transform oneself or the way one sees the world, or, if you’re lucky, the way someone else sees the world. 

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Margaux Ogden lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Recent solo exhibitions have been held at White Cube (2024), Tif Sigfrids (2024), Deanna Evans (2023) and Berggruen Gallery (2023). Residencies include the British School at Rome, Yaddo and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She received her BA from Bard College in 2005 and her MFA in Painting from Boston University in 2012. 

Tess Bilhartz grew up in Dallas, Texas and currently lives and works in New York City where she teaches art at Borough of Manhattan Community College - CUNY. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Now You See Me’ at Deanna Evans Projects (2025), ‘Follow Me Down’ at Rubber Factory (2022), and ‘What on Earth’ at Below Grand (2020). Her work has also been exhibited at Embajada, San Juan, PR, Primary, Miami, FL, and Island, New York, NY. Residencies include the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2017), and the Sharpe Walentas Space Program (2013). She is represented by Deanna Evans Projects.