{"id":657835,"date":"2026-10-26T19:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T19:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/657835\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T19:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T19:04:12","slug":"scott-kahn-invokes-dreams-and-liminality-in-atmospheric-landscape-paintings-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/657835\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Kahn Invokes Dreams and Liminality in Atmospheric Landscape Paintings \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until a few years ago, painter Scott Kahn<\/a> was living in his cousin\u2019s attic, with a studio filled with work that he hadn\u2019t had a lot of luck selling. Then, he began a chance correspondence with the late Canadian artist Matthew Wong<\/a>, who related to Kahn\u2019s own self-taught background and interest in magical realism<\/a>. \u201cMatthew was really a great champion of my work,\u201d Kahn told Artnet News<\/a>. \u201cThe only way I can explain it is that we were soulmates.\u201d When Wong\u2019s career took off in 2018, Kahn\u2019s atmospheric, often surreal landscapes also found their audience.<\/p>\n

Mostly working in oil on linen, Kahn creates scenes that glow beneath the bright moon or complement architectural elements seen through vignettes of trees and clouds. The works shown here were recently on view in the artist\u2019s sweeping solo exhibition, Silent Night<\/a> at David Zwirner.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cBerkshire Nightscape II\u201d (2005), oil on linen, 36 1\/8 x 40 inches<\/p>\n

We encounter nods to American regionalism, such as in \u201cBerkshire Nightscape II\u201d with its pronounced resemblance to Grant Wood<\/a>\u2019s bulbous, cultivated hills of rural Iowa. Other works invoke the realm of the unconscious, such \u201cThe Basement Window,\u201d which recalls a recurring dream the artist has of his childhood home. Trees appear both inside and outside, blurring the boundary between architectural space and nature. In \u201cThe Stoop,\u201d a mysterious, deep-forest darkness infringes upon the sunniness of front steps.<\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Basement,\u201d there is also a subtle connection to the interiority of the body in the trees\u2019 vein-like branches and roots. Through structural apertures, such as a window or a balcony\u2014including the paintings\u2019 inherent frames\u2014the surrounding environment is open to us but always limited. There is always a compelling edge, horizon, shadow, or disappearing path that prompts us to question whether we can truly comprehend what we see.<\/p>\n

Kahn\u2019s compositions often feel familiar, yet through deep contrasts, long shadows, nighttime scenes, and portal-like framing, he invokes a sense of enigma and liminality. The scenes are often stretched, as if seen through a wide-angle lens, and there is an indelible sense of transition, whether from night to day, sleeping to waking, or imagination to reality. \u201cI don\u2019t get too bogged down in what a landscape actually is,\u201d Kahn says. \u201cIt\u2019s more a vehicle to express a mood. That, to me, is the value of a landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

See more on the artist\u2019s Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cLeap from the Balcony\u201d (2003), oil on linen, 61 7\/8 x 72 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cThe Stoop\u201d (2024\/2025), oil on wood panel, 28 x 22 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cThe Basement\u201d (2025), oil on linen, 52 1\/4 x 60 1\/4 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cNew Moon\u201d (2008\/2013), oil on linen, 18 x 20 inches<\/p>\n

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