Kahn's paintings feature tall, bare trees cut off by the edge of the canvas, set against dusk skies rendered in realistic tones of pinks and purples. Known for a liberal use of color, Kahn's pieces incorporate a kaleidoscope of shades without sacrificing the scene's cohesiveness.
In the setting of the bright but stark gallery, Kahn's paintings become all the more striking. Viewing the paintings against a white backdrop allows gallery visitors to focus better on the varying tones and Kahn's ability to portray emotion through their application.
Kahn's brushstrokes lend his canvases a sense of dynamism that realistically portrays nature in flux as leaves fall before the approaching winter. Even so, Kahn creates pieces that also have a sense of longevity, as his unique use of color makes the paintings timeless. Kahn has even been called the Degas of our time for his revolutionary work with pastels.
Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Kahn graduated from the High School of Music and Art in New York before co-establishing the Hansa Gallery, where he exhibited his first solo show. Kahn remains in New York City for the majority of the year, but now spends autumns painting at his farm in Vermont. He has also traveled internationally to paint, venturing everywhere from Hawaii to Egypt.
Kahn's works have gained considerable notoriety and have been exhibited in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. He was an important part of the color field movement, a form of abstraction that materialized in New York City in the 1940s.
Spheris Gallery has hosted artworks by Kahn before, in a co-exhibit of Kahn and Ray Ruseckas, which focused on Kahn's depictions of College landmarks such as Shattuck Observatory, Dartmouth Hall and Memorial Field. The current exhibition will be open through Nov. 2. The Spheris Gallery is located on South Main Street in Hanover.
