SCOTT KAHN

Kahn was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1946. He received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1967. The following year, Kahn took classes at the Art Students League in New York, where he studied under the painter Theodoros Stamos and encountered other influential artists such as Mark Rothko, though he soon moved away from working in an abstract idiom in favour of the figurative style for which he has become known. Kahn subsequently completed an MFA at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1970.

A seasoned painter who had been exhibiting steadily since the 1970s, Kahn began to garner widespread attention in 2018. That year, he made one very significant sale to his good friend and fellow painter Matthew Wong (1984–2019). Kahn and Wong had connected a few years prior via Facebook, where they bonded over their mutual artistic interests, eventually meeting in person and sharing their work. Wong posted Kahn’s painting _Cul de Sac _(2017) on his social media and praised Kahn as an important influence on his work, leading to increased public awareness of Kahn’s practice.

Kahn has since been the subject of numerous solo presentations, including Now and Then, Ober Gallery, Kent, Connecticut (2018);Diary, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York (2019);Diary Continued, Harper’s Gallery, East Hampton, New York (2019); Soul States, ATM Gallery, New York (2021); and Afternoon of a Faun, Harper’s Chelsea and Harper’s Apartment, New York (2021). In 2021 and 2022, Almine Rech held two solo presentations of Kahn’s work in Paris and New York.

The artist has also ventured into the realm of cinema. In 2023, he produced the loosely autobiographical feature-length picture Dog Bites Man,__written by poet Frederick Kirwin, with works by Kahn appearing throughout the film.

Kahn has been the recipient of two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants (1986 and 1995) and a residency at The Edward F. Albee Foundation in Montauk, New York (1975–1977). His work is held in institutional collections including the He Art Museum (HEM), Foshan, China; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Long Museum, Shanghai; and the Rachofsky Collection, Dallas.

The artist lives and works in Westchester, New York.

Courtesy David Zwirner