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Andre Kohn
The precise convergence of three dynamic forces-culture, environment and
talent-combined to produce one of the most collected figurative painters
on the American art scene today. Raised by an artistically gifted family
near the Caspian Sea in southern Russia, Andre Kohn's childhood was
marked by the natural splendor of mountains and sea, and by an
unfettered access to all the creative arts.
His mother was a symphony violinist and his father a
noted linguist, writer and sculptor. Both were educators trained in
psychology who gave their only child unrestricted opportunity to explore
the depths of art and his own obvious talent. Paintings, sculpture and
books filled the family's tiny, one-bedroom home. It was a childhood
without material possessions, but a childhood which taught him that the
creative arts are the only true wealth. Kohn's parents also encouraged
their son to draw on any surface-including the wallpaper in their
home-which they simply re-papered when he grew old enough to favor
sketchbooks. His memory of childhood is that "music and art were
everywhere.
" While always innovative in drawing and painting,
Kohn's professional art education began at age 15 when he was chosen to
apprentice in the studios of Moscow's most esteemed Impressionist and
Social Realist artists. At that time, Impressionism in Russia was
nearing the end of a harmonic and prolific century-a prodigious period
in Russian art that literally changed the world. Kohn's childhood and
art education corresponded with an eruption of cultural progress in all
the arts, including ballet, literature, music and painting. He was
principally influenced by such artists as He followed the
apprenticeships with a classical art education at the University of
Moscow where he studied with members of the last great generation of
Russian Impressionists. With his talent already in evidence, he quickly
earned an invitation from the Artist's Union of Bulgaria (Europe) to
stage a prestigious one-man show in one of their country's major
exhibition halls. Still in his first year of college, Kohn was the only
student so honored for the year.
He fondly remembers the majesty of the University. "The
experience was totally unique," he has said. "The atmosphere was one of
huge columns, marble floors and masterworks on the walls. Legends of the
Russian art world walked the halls and discussed your work. It was a
privilege to be there, and it laid the foundation for my entire career."
However, fate soon dramatically redirected the young artist's life and
art. His father, a colonel in the Russian Army, was the first candidate
to participate in the post-Cold War officer exchange program at the U.S.
Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1993, while Kohn was in
America visiting his parents, his father announced his intention to
defect to the United States. Suddenly, the young artist realized he
would never again be permitted to return to his homeland.
It took little time for American art audiences and
media to discover the mature, fresh figurative painting style of the
young Russian. His first one-man show in America created instant
interest in his work and helped introduce Kohn to audiences in his
adopted country.
Kohn remains a preeminent leader of Figurative
Impressionism which seeks to capture the complexity as well as the
simplicity and directness of the human form. "I'm seeking my own unique,
poetic interpretation of the moment," he says. "I'm striving to find the
extraordinary in the ordinary.
" Despite Kohn's unrepeatable pallet, personally
developed style and unique interpretations of form, his education is
enduring. From his home in Arizona, Kohn travels the world for
inspiration, periodically returning to France to continue his formal,
classical studies.
Kohn's work is represented by premier galleries in the
United States and he is a regular contributor to invitational
exhibitions. Kohn is a frequent subject of highly regarded art
publications, and his unique ability to communicate the expressiveness
of the human form has kept him a mainstay of private, corporate and
permanent museum collections worldwide.
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