After years of being a fan, I met Mona Kuhn at a gathering of photographers and we bonded over our love for the desert. Light is key in Mona’s work, which is fitting as she radiates a warm, bright light. Chatting with her is always a treat and there is no loss for words, so when Aline suggested I interview her for Lenscratch, I was in.
Mona’s current exhibition, Works, at Galerie XII at Bergamot Station in Los Angeles coincides with the release of her retrospective monograph, Mona Kuhn:Works, published by Thames and Hudson. The exhibition runs through July 3rd and features work from six of her series, giving the viewer a chance to see the progression of her artistic métier. If you’re lucky enough to see the show and even luckier to catch it when Mona is there, she’ll talk you through it in her breezy, concise (and fun) way that will bring you deeper into the images from the series; Evidence, Native, Bushes & Succulents, the Bordeaux Series, Private, and She Disappeared into Complete Silence.
Kuhn was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1969, of German descent. In 1989, Kuhn moved to the US and earned her BA from The Ohio State University, before furthering her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an independent scholar at The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.
Mona Kuhn’s first monograph, Photographs, was debuted by Steidl in 2004; followed by Evidence (2007), Native (2010), Bordeaux Series (2011), Private (2014), and She Disappeared into Complete Silence (2018/19). In addition, Kuhn’s monograph titled Bushes and Succulents has been published by Stanley/Barker Editions, with a debut at Jeu de Paume in Paris, in 2019. A stunning career retrospective of Mona Kuhn’s Works has been published by Thames & Hudson, Spring 2021. Kuhn’s forthcoming publication Kings Road, will be published and released by Steidl this Fall 2021.
Mona Kuhn’s work is in private and public collections worldwide, including The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hammer Museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Kiyosato Museum in Japan. Mona Kuhn lives and works in Los Angeles.
