Studio, 2017
Paul Kuhn was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia in 1950.
Graduated with a BFA (with distinction) from The University of Victoria, 1974
Earned a MFA from the University of Saskatchewan in 1976.
The artist lives and works in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
For almost fifty years, the heart of Paul Kuhn’ s painting practice is an exploration of the basic elements of abstract painting: colour, line, shape, texture and surface. Influenced by the tradition of European modernism and American minimalism, particularly in his use of a geometric grid, the artist explores the complexity found in simple structures, sequences and rhythm. Through his use of a formalist language he seeks to create a visual balance of painterly elements and to achieve a cohesive tension to the overall composition.
Studio, 2009
The clean bi-lateral divisions of the picture belie the complexity of the painting process. For Kuhn any painting is a process of discovery and surprise. Surfaces of colour washes are applied through a painstaking process that is both additive and subtractive. Layers of paint are erased and repainted many times until the artist is satisfied with both the geometric structure and the colour relationships therein.
Paul Kuhn has exhibited widely and is featured in many private, corporate and museum collections, notably: Royal Bank of Canada, Vancouver, Toronto Dominion Bank, Interstate Bank of America, Seattle, Talisman Energy, Calgary, Plains Midstream, Calgary, TransCanada Pipelines, Art Bank, Ottawa, BC Art Bank, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Glenbow Museum.