MONA KUHN
STUDIES HUMAN FORM
Mona Kuhn is a photographer and lens-based media artist. Acclaimed for her contemporary depictions, she is considered a leading artist in the world of figurative discourse. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, Mona's practice has focused on the mysteries of the physical and metaphysical presence of the figure. She looks at the figure and representation as a platform to our complex emotions, desires and fears. As she solidified her photographic style, Mona created a notable approach to the nude by developing friendships with her subjects, and employing a range of playful visual strategies that use natural light and minimalist settings to evoke a sublime sense of comfort between the human figure and its environment.
For the past two decades, the Los Angeles-based artist's works have been shown steadily, revealing an astonishing consistency in technique, of subject and of purpose. In 2001, Mona’s photographs were first seen by an influential audience during the exhibition at Charles Cowles Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Mona Kuhn’s distinct aesthetic has made her one of the most collectible contemporary art photographers — her work is in private and public collections worldwide and she is represented by galleries across the United States, Europe and Asia.
Mona was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1969, of German descent. In 1989, she moved to the US and earned her BA from The Ohio State University, before furthering her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an independent scholar at The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Occasionally, Mona teaches at UCLA and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Mona Kuhn’s work is in private and public collections worldwide, including The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hammer Museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Kiyosato Museum in Japan. Mona's work has been exhibited at The Louvre Museum and Le Bal in Paris, The Whitechapel Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London, Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland, Leopold Museum in Vienna Austria, The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver Canada, Australian Centre for Photography and Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan. She lives and works in Los Angeles.
