By Mona Kuhn
Located in San Francisco, CA
From the series 'Bushes and Succulents' (2018), Mona Kuhn’s artistic response to the ongoing currents in contemporary feminism. Reminiscent of Georgia O’Keefe’s floral paintings, your eyes wander around the graceful lines, not knowing exactly what you are looking at. The images are a celebration of the female essence - confident, raw and elegant, yet confrontational and unapologetic.
Succulents 01 (2018)
60" x 45" / 152cm x 114cm
edition of 5 + 1AP
40" x 30" / 102cm x 76cm
edition of 8 + 2AP
limited edition photograph printed under artist supervision + accompanied by signed artist certificate:
artist signature labels are 8x10 in size
signed, editioned, dated and titled by the artist, and stamped for authenticity
label is placed centered on verso of the mounted print
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About the artist
Acclaimed for her contemporary depictions, Kuhn is considered a leading artist in the world of figurative discourse. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, the underlying theme of her work is her reflection on humanity’s longing for spiritual connection and solidarity. As she solidified her photographic style, Kuhn created a notable approach to the nude by developing friendships with her subjects, and employing a range of playful visual strategies that use natural light and minimalist settings to evoke a sublime sense of comfort between the human figure and its environment. Her work is natural, restful, and a reinterpretation of the nude in the canon of contemporary art.
For the past two decades, the Los-Angeles based artist's works have been shown steadily, revealing an astonishing consistency in technique, of subject and of purpose. In 2001, Kuhn’s photographs were first seen by an influential audience during the exhibition at Charles Cowles Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Kuhn’s distinct aesthetic has propelled her as one of the most collectible contemporary art photographers—her work is in private and public collections worldwide and she is represented by galleries across the United States, Europe and Asia.
Kuhn was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1969, of German descent. In 1989, Kuhn moved to the US and earned her BA from The Ohio State University, before furthering her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an independent scholar at The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Occasionally, Mona teaches at UCLA and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Mona Kuhn’s first monograph, Photographs, was debuted by Steidl in 2004; followed by Evidence (2007), Native (2010), Bordeaux Series (2011), Private (2014), and She Disappeared into Complete Silence (2018/19). In addition, Kuhn's monograph titled Bushes and Succulents has been published by Stanley/Barker Editions, with a debut at Jeu de Paume in Paris, in 2019. A stunning career retrospective of Mona Kuhn's works has been published by Thames & Hudson, Spring 2021. Kuhn's forthcoming publication Kings Road, will be published and released by Steid this Fall 2021.
Mona Kuhn’s work is in private and public collections worldwide, including The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hammer Museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Kiyosato Museum in Japan. Kuhn's work has been exhibited at The Louvre Museum and Le Bal in Paris; The Whitechapel Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London; Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland; Leopold Museum in Vienna Austria, The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver Canada, Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan and Australian Centre for Photography. Mona Kuhn lives and works in Los Angeles.
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Solo Exhibitions
2021
Mona Kuhn: Works, Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York
Mona Kuhn: Works, Flowers Gallery, London
Mona Kuhn: Works, Galerie XII, Los Angeles + Paris + Shanghai
Mona Kuhn: 835 Kings Road, Art, Design and Architecture Museum, Santa Barbara
2020
Still Light, Jardin du Bra'haus, Montée du Château, Clervaux, Luxembourg
Mona Kuhn: Early Depictions, Flowers Gallery, London
Mona Kuhn: Intimate, UP Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
2019
Bushes and Succulents, Euqinom Gallery, San Francisco
Mona Kuhn: She Disappeared, Jackson Fine Art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Art by Medium: Film
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
