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Harrison Public Library Presents “Nature’s Faces & Places” by Bjoern Kuhn


About the Artist:

Born in Bremerhaven, Germany, I immigrated to the US with my family in 1960.
Equipped with 2 years of “the King’s English” as taught in the German schools, I was immersed into the regular school year for my age.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I learned American English rather quickly.
One of my favorite subjects in high school was art, partially because it didn’t require speaking, but mostly because I enjoyed it.
Even then, my favorite subject to paint was animals, especially horses.

In 9th grade I expressed a desire to become an artist. My father let me know that art was a hard way to make a living.
In response I announced “ok, then I’ll be an architect”. That was that. No regrets.
After high school I went to Illinois Institute of Technology to pursue a degree in architecture. A year later I transferred to New York Institute of Technology.
I graduated in 1971 and started working immediately after graduation. I still practice architecture to this date.
Art had become sidelined……until recently.

I now paint more regularly. I became a member of the Scarsdale Art Association.
I also joined the Westchester Artist Guild where we meet once a week to paint together and critique our work.
I have entered various exhibits and came away with ribbons for several of my paintings.

I continue painting in acrylic, pastel, and graphite.

Artist Statement:

I do not have a formal education in art. What I have learned is partially self-taught and partially gained through my career as an architect.
Architecture is a visual science. Through architecture I learned how to see.
I also learned about composition, proportion, light & shade, as well as color.
My interest in creating art has waxed and waned over the years. Only a handful of paintings remain from the earlier years.
Over the last five years the drive to paint has become much stronger.
I gave up watercolor because I was constantly getting lost in the technical aspects of this medium. I think my analytical mind was too active.
My wife convinced me to try a different medium, and to work on larger format
I went for acrylics and large canvases. As they say, practice makes perfect, and I continue to practice. Although I own quite a few, the idea of reading how-to books in my mind is not productive. Doing is far better than reading.
Somewhere along the line I decided to try pastels. I am currently totally immersed in this medium. I also resurrected my graphite skills.
The urge to paint comes over me at the oddest moments, Mostly late at night. When I act on it, time totally disappears. There always seems to be another stroke or color that needs adjusting. I finally come to a point where I am satisfied, at least for the moment. It frequently happens when the next subject is tugging at my creative channel, begging to come out.
My subjects are mostly based in nature. The natural world has always awed and inspired me. I think there is no better architect than Mother Nature.

Event Location and Ticket Information

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Harrison Public Library
2 Bruce Avenue
Harrison, NY
Handicap Accessible? Yes

Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021
Times: 9:30 am - 5:30 pm

Ticket pricing:
Free event

Presenter: Harrison Public Library
Presenter Phone: 9148350324
Presenter Website: https://www.harrisonpl.org/