Mona Kuhn

Mona Kuhn

Mona Kuhn
Born 1969
São Paulo, Brazil
Nationality Brazil/United States
Known for Photography
Website www.monakuhn.com

Mona Kuhn (born 1969 in São Paulo, Brazil) is an artist known for large-scale photographs of the human form. Her work often references classical themes, has been exhibited internationally, and is held in several collections including the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum and the Pérez Art Museum Miami.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil to parents of German ancestry, Mona Kuhn lives and works in Los Angeles, United States.

Early life

Mona Kuhn began taking photographs at age 12, when her parents gave her a Kodak camera for her birthday.[1] She moved to the United States in 1992 to attend Ohio State University and then furthered her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. She has listed her early influences as artists Lucian Freud, Eric Fischl, and Mário Cravo Neto.[1][2]

Career

Kuhn chose the nude as the focus of her work because it represents a timeless canon and she was interested in the idea of the body as residence. She describes her visual vocabulary as figurative, however recent works have begun explorations with abstraction.[3] Her early work focused on details of the body in black and white; she is quoted as saying:

"I was not yet comfortable photographing the full figure. As I became more comfortable and as I stepped back with the camera and started seeing more of the environment, I realized right away that color was very important … that color was all around and balancing color became very important for me, and it also became a source of inspiration. Every new series starts with me imagining a palette; and then I grow from there."[4]

Kuhn's first monograph titled Photographs was published by Steidl in 2004. Photographs was followed by Evidence in 2007, which was accompanied with a short story by Frederic Tuten. Her next project, released in 2010, was a return to her homeland of Brazil, with a series titled Native and an accompanying monograph of the same name published by Steidl.[5] In 2011, Kuhn released Bordeaux Series, also with a monograph published by Steidl, which is a collection of traditional portraits and landscapes.[6] Her work has been described as "intimate and sensuous," "dreamlike" and "classical" in composition.[5][7][8]

In a 2013 interview with ARTnews, Kuhn compared her process with childbirth, saying of the completion of a project that “When you feel that you are ready, you want to separate from it. You can’t take it anymore, and you have to push it out. And once it’s out, it takes on a life of its own.”[9]

In addition to fine art photography, Kuhn also has an extensive career with fashion and editorial work. She shot Bottega Veneta's resort 2012 campaign and has collaborated with James Perse and Almay. Kuhn has photographed for numerous publications including Numéro, Le Monde, Harper's Bazaar, and W (magazine).[10][11] Her portrait subjects include Tom Hiddleston and Hailee Steinfeld.[12][13]

Kuhn has been invited to curate exhibitions, most recently curating a show for The Billboard Creative, which placed works by emerging and established artists on billboards across Los Angeles.[14] She curated Under My Skin at Flowers Gallery in New York City in 2013 and juried (Un)Clothed at The Center for Fine Art Photography, also in 2013.[15][16]

Since 1998, she has been an independent scholar at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.[17]

Selected Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions:

Group Exhibitions:

Public Collections

Books

References

  1. 1 2 "Un-Titled Project: Mona Kuhn". The Un-Titled Project. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  2. ↑ Gordon, Jessica. "Wild Magazine". Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.hotshoeinternational.com/blog/interview/mona-kuhn-acido-dorado
  4. ↑ Kurcfeld, Michael. "Photographer Spotlight: Mona Kuhn". LA Review of Books. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Le Journal de le Photographie, Native". Le Journal de le Photographie. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Le Journal de le Photographie, Bordeaux". Le Journal de le Photographie. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Vogue, Mona Kuhn". Vogue. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "ELLE, Mona Kuhn". ELLE. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.artnews.com/2014/02/24/when-is-an-artwork-finished/
  10. ↑ "WSJ Magazine, Mona Kuhn".
  11. ↑ "New York Magazine, Mona Kuhn". New York Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Tom Hiddleston, Travis Fimmel & 2016's Hottest TV Stars". 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  13. ↑ "Hailee Steinfeld Sitting Pretty". 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  14. ↑ "Curator -- Q4 The Billboard Creative". The Billboard Creative. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Center for Fine Art Photography". Center for Fine Art Photography. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "artnet: Mona Kuhn". artnet. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "New Cover Page". EUQINOMprojects. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  18. ↑ "Galerie Ernst Hilger, Mona Kuhn". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Flowers Gallery, Mona Kuhn". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "Jackson Fine Art, Mona Kuhn". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Edwynn Houk, Mona Kuhn". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Gallery, Flowers. "Out of Obscurity - Exhibitions - Flowers Gallery". Flowers Gallery. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  23. ↑ "Boundless: A California Invitational | Museum of Photographic Arts". www.mopa.org. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  24. ↑ "Maloney Fine Art, Love Potions". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "The Billboard Creative, Mona Kuhn". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  26. ↑ "Le Louvre". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  27. ↑ "PAMM". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "MOPA". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "Kahmann Gallery". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Getty Museum, Mona Kuhn". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Mona Kuhn, CV". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
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