The Fall 2024 Graduate Art guest lecture series, organized by Kelly Akashi

Scott Kahn

This event is free & open to the public. RSVP’s are not required.

See the full Fall 2024 Seminar schedule here.

Scott Kahn (b.1946) lives and works in New Rochelle, NY. He received his MFA from Rutgers University. Recent solo exhibitions include Almine Rech, Upper East Side, NY, The Walled City(2022), Consortium Museum, Dijon, France, L’Almanach 23, Eric Troncy curator (2023) , Art Basel Hong Kong, Solo Booth, Francois Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles (2021), ATM Gallery, NYC, Soul States, Portraits (2021), Harper’s Apartment, Harper’s Chelsea, Afternoon of a Faun, New York (2021), Harper's Books, Easthampton, L.I., Diary Continued (2019).

Scott considers his work to be a visual diary, record of his life, a reporting of the places and people he encounters. For him it is not easy to begin a painting, despite the variety and complexity of the world. It is important to him to have a reason to paint, for the impulse to be strong. If he does not feel compelled to work, how can he expect the viewer to respond to what he is reporting? If he is successful, he hopes the painting will have depth, poetry, and honesty. The effect should be direct and clear. To achieve this result, he believes a creative person calls upon every tool available to him: technical, emotional. intuitive, and intellectual. The act of creating, therefore teaches us and reveals to us who we are and our relationship to life. This is why he paints.

Image credit: Scott Kahn in his studio with Wolf Moon, 2023. Photo by Jason Schmidt. Courtesy David Zwirner.

Support for this series is generously provided by the following: Jack Shear, Brenda R. Potter, Brendan Dugan, Lisson Gallery, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Sprüth Magers, BLUM, Alan Hergott, and David Kordansky.

ArtCenter’s Graduate Seminar lecture series is a forum for graduate students, members of the ArtCenter community and the general public to enter into dialogue with internationally recognized artists, critics, and art historians. Unless otherwise indicated, lectures are free, open to the public and take place most Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm in the L.A. Times Auditorium. Check out the Graduate Art website to confirm dates, times and locations for the lecture series and for more information about the Graduate Art program.

ArtCenter's Graduate Art program is based on intensive studio practice and rigorous academic coursework. The program is distinguished by its low faculty-to-student ratio, which provides students with the attention and feedback they need to refine and achieve their artistic goals. Faculty and students are artists working in all genres of film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, performance and installation. A significant number of alumni have achieved national and international acclaim and often return to share their insights and expertise as visiting faculty and guest lecturers.