Scott Kahn

David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition by Scott Kahn (b. 1946) at the gallery’s 537 West 20th Street location in New York. Over more than five decades, Kahn has maintained a commitment to a representational mode of expression, using a distinctive formal language to achieve a nuanced and poetic rendition of the simultaneous splendor and mundanity of the world around him. Focusing on the artist’s singular landscapes—a genre that is central to his practice—the exhibition will bring together new and recent paintings that explore Kahn’s most enduring motifs.

Rooted in his everyday life and experiences, Kahn’s enigmatic landscapes blend real and surreal elements. Many read as near facsimiles of lived experience shot through with electric color or ghostly shadows: billowing clouds that seem to come alive, ominous moonscapes, bare trees electrified by unexpected hues, and picture windows that open onto worlds both known and unknown. Seasons turn and day recedes into night, change often sweeping across a single canvas. As writer and poet John Yau has observed: “Standing before a painting by Kahn, we begin to see ourselves seeing a world, which, despite its plethora of precise details, remains a mystery, like a beautiful box that cannot be opened up.”¹

¹ John Yau, “Scott Kahn’s Inimitable Views,”(2024).