Coco Schramel

New Orleans, Louisiana/Chicago, Illinois

CoCo Schramel uses watercolor and acrylic paint to make the surreal real.

CoCo Schramel is a contemporary artist originally from New Orleans living in Chicago. She received her BFA from Tulane University in Studio Art with an emphasis in Printmaking. She graduated in 2015 and moved to New York City later that year.

In New York, she worked as a creative artist and sewing teacher, painting in the mornings and teaching in the afternoons. After two years living in New York, she decided it was time for a new adventure. CoCo moved to Chicago labor day weekend of 2017 and begun working at the Museum of Contemporary Art, installing and de-installing exhibitions. She then went on to work at a letterpress company a few months later and continues to paint everyday.

Inspired by Henri Rousseau, Rene Magritte, Picasso, Yayoi Kusama, Art has always played a significant role in Coco’s life, both her mother and grandmother are/were visual artists. Growing up in Louisiana, CoCo was inspired by the intricate patterns found within the species of the natural world. Her work focuses on the concentration of these beautiful patterns found on or within these different organisms.

Her paintings and prints often include plant-life, sea-life, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, etc. that she places in surreal landscapes. CoCo’s goal is to transform these intimidating looking creatures into works of art and make the world see the ethereal beauty that she finds within each one.