Wolf Kahn (1927-2020)
Grey and White, 1971
Pastel on paper
14 x 17 inches
Framed Dimensions: 22h x 26w x 1.50d inches
This is a special piece because Wolf Kahn painted it as a negative. The trees are a negative space.
Kahn’s unique blend of American Realism and the formal discipline of Color Field painting sets the work of Wolf Kahn apart from his contemporaries.
According his painting student J. Steven Manolis, when Kahn travelled, he always painted with pastels because they were easy to transport. But, he also started his painting day with a 2-3 hour session of pastels. Kahn would say. "Pastels are my calisthenics before painting with oils on canvas." he would joke, "I breathe; I pastel" He considered pastel to be the "equivalent of dust from butterflies wings." His pastel technique would include placing the pastel on paper and then, rubbing and smearing the pastel on the paper with his fingertips. He would always exclaim how soft it was!
Almost all Wolf Kahn oil paintings were scaled up versions of an earlier pastel. Most art historians and art critics consider Wolf Kahn to be one of the most significant pastel artists ever, and certainly since Degas.