WOLF KAHN

An important lesson I've learned from art is how to discern color where, at first glance, there appears to be none.

This is, of course, a metaphor for being able to discern the positive aspects of life--whether personally or in the world at large.

An artist whose work represents this idea beautifully is Wolf Kahn (b. 1927).

Kahn is an American artist, whose poignant landscapes combine color field abstraction with realism.

Kahn studied under Hans Hofmann, whose students produced some of the greatest art of the 20th century.

Most of Kahn's works are executed in pastel or oil, both mediums which provide highly saturated hues, and imbue common landscape depictions with keen emotion.

Kahn's work has been said to combine "the palette of Matisse" with the abstraction of Rothko.

I was inspired by the way Kahn utilized highly saturated neon colors, and found a suitable backdrop that reminded me of Kahn's linear depictions of the landscape.

Though my surrounding landscape was a bit grey, my favorite neon skirt and bright accessories became all the color I needed for a cloudy afternoon.

I'm wearing a vintage skirt, vintage silk blouse, Johnny Wujek x Modern Vintage wood & leather heels, socks from the drugstore, and a Dannijo necklace.

If you can't recognize the color in your landscape, why not become the color yourself?

[Wolf Kahn images from sensationalcolor.com, stumbleupon.com, rmcornelius.blogspot.com, zainteriora.net, and thecolorist.blogspot.com, respectively.]