151.1 x 124.5 cm
Wyatt Kahn (b. 1983, New York, NY) investigates the visual and spatial relationship between painting and sculpture. Receiving wide recognition early in his career (2011+) for reliefs comprised of interlocking panels of raw canvas stretched over wood that bolted together, the unadorned surface of which belied the sophisticated choreography of geometric shapes of their construction. Exploring compositional elements of line, space and form, Kahn transformed ethereal considerations into tangibles, composed of canvas stretched over strips of wood that he mounted on the wall as reliefs.
Continuing to explore the interplay between two and three dimensions as experienced via shifts in surface, structure and depth, Kahn has expanded to include working with linen, sheets of lead, oil stick, and shaped stretchers, as well as large scale public installation. In Kahn’s practice, the wall upon which the work is hung becomes an integral part of the composition. Interested in a painting’s potential to function as the very embodiment of the object it depicts, Kahn has also developed works in which the shaped stretchers combine to create the form of an actual object, while a synthesis of hand-drawn motifs and words epitomize its essential qualities.
Now returning to the flat surface for the first time since 2017, Kahn’s Red with Blue Stripe (2026) exposes the interior of his work to reveal its construction and highlight its physical presence. Inspired by stained-glass windows, Kahn stretches transparent marine vinyl over handmade wooden bars and paints on the reverse with solvent-based pigments. This process creates a luminous, layered composition that subtly reveals the underlying structure.
Wyatt Kahn’s work is included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art; Centre Georges Pompidou; Dallas Museum of Art; and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, amongst others.
