"…Kahn’s surrealism is not of the front-page, national-news variety. It’s more visual, more mystical."—Andrew L. Shea
Scott Kahn was born in 1946 in Springfield, Massachusetts and resides in upstate New York. He obtained a Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University in 1970, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967. His distinctive oeuvre received critical acclaim throughout his career, including being the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation award in 1986 and 1995, and a fellowship at the Edward F. Albee Foundation. Despite this early recognition, Kahn soon fell into relative oblivion until the endorsement of fellow artist Matthew Wong re-ignited his career. Kahn had formed a friendship with the self-taught Canadian artist via social media, both sharing an interest in magical realism.
"No one was paying any attention to me. I thought I’d die in my cousin’s attic, in poverty, without any recognition. And then Matthew came along.”
—Scott Kahn
• In 2018, Matthew Wong bought a painting by Kahn that he posted to Instagram–crediting Kahn as a major inspiration to his own practice which itself garnered incredible critical and market acclaim.
• In summer 2019, Kahn received a solo show first at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York, and then at Harper’s Books, Easthampton.
• Harper Levine gave Kahn solo shows at his uptown and Chelsea galleries in 2021.
• In July 2021, Almine Rech announced their exclusive representation of Kahn, who hadn’t been represented by a gallery for 15 years.
• In November 2021, Phillips established a new benchmark in Kahn’s secondary market, offering Cadman Plaza in the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in November 2021 which sold for $963,203. Up until then, the few paintings offered at regional auction houses barely sold, with the last work offered in 2017 selling for merely $500.
• A new auction record for Kahn was achieved in May 2022, when a canvas sold for nearly $1.5 million
