courtney coles (b. 1989, Panorama City, CA) is a Black-American photographer and leatherdyke who was born and raised in Sylmar, California. She received her MFA in Photography & Media from California Institute of the Arts in 2019 and her BFA in Photography from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2014. She has had solo exhibitions at No Moon, Los Angeles; d300, Valencia, CA; and Mint gallery, Valencia, CA.

 

coles’s warm and sensual photographs are the culmination of love letters written in regard to people, places and memories that make up a home. Carefully observing private moments that are seemingly interwoven in public spheres, coles invites the viewer into a world of desire and asks them to seek pleasure and solace in a Western society so repressed.

 

coles is currently an Adjunct Professor of Photography at Chaffey College and Cypress College.