Wolf Kahn (American/German, 1927-2020) Reservoir

Signed bottom left, titled on label verso, pastel on paper.
Executed in 1990.

(11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6cm))

Provenance

Ameringer Yohe Fine Art, New York, New York.
Private Collection, Pennsylvania.

Note

Discussions around Wolf Kahn’s paintings often pose the question of whether they should be categorized as representational or abstract. Although some representative elements are typically present - a line of trees or a perhaps a distant horizon - Kahn’s work tends to capture the feeling of nature, the impression of a moment in time rather than an exact depiction. In describing his stance on color and composition, Kahn once stated, “the artist’s alertness to the coloristic demands of each picture, the ability to respond to the picture’s needs, to feed the color until its appetite is satiated: these are the true measures of a colorist’s talent.”

Pastel in particular, due to its heavy concentration of pigment, served as a primary medium for Kahn to explore his relationship with color. In the present work, bright yellow is contrasted by magenta, with pops of an electric blue occasionally present in the tree trunks scattered through the composition. The result is highly emotive and energetic, as though heat is radiating off of the paper and into the viewer’s space.

In overall very good condition. The drawing is torn from a spiralized notebook. Dark brown surface soiling is present along extreme bottom right edge though this may be inherent. Pigment has seeped through to the verso. The sheet is mounted to the matboard with three strips of fabric tape along the top edge.
Frame: 18 1/4 x 20 3/4 x 1 1/8 in.