Sitting in the back of his middle school classroom, a young Steven Cogle would recollect his favorite childhood super heroes and remix them into his own hip hop versions through his sketches.
Cogle's route was by no means direct and straightforward however. Throughout the years, Steven Cogle worked a wide range of occupations before finally settling on his lifelong calling. One of these occupations included serving in the military, an experience that surely shaped his outspoken political perspective. This social commentary is visible in a number of his paintings such as "Detainee" and "Detainees," which document the story of America's War on Terror.
Very often, when observing a Cogle piece, people are compelled to draw the connection to the late Jean-Michel Basquiat, the well-renowned Brooklyn native who came out of the neo-expressionism movement in the 80s. While it is certainly a compliment to be held in this regard, Cogle wants the people to know that he should not be perceived as the second coming of the late painter, but rather the next one up in a long, rich tradition of Black artists who's work goes far overlooked by the mainstream - painters like Bob Thompson who originally paved the way for artists like Basquiat. It is for this reason why compromising will never be an option for Steven Cogle, who has been critiqued by museums for his unorthodox, abstract approach.
Cogle is a multi-dimensional Artist that is building a world that will serve as a bridge for other artists as well. TV, Film, Fashion and comic books – Cogle plans to infuse his perspective in a myriad of artistic mediums in addition to all of his celebrity commissions such as the one he did for Michael B. Jordan, Chris Rock and Andie MacDowell.