Mona Kuhn is a photographer and lens-based media artist. Acclaimed for her contemporary depictions, Kuhn is considered a leading artist in the world of figurative discourse. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, Kuhn's practice is focused on the mysteries of the physical and metaphysical presence of the figure. Kuhn looks at the figure and representation as a platform for our complex emotions, desires, and fears. As she solidified her photographic style, Kuhn created a notable approach to the nude by developing friendships with her subjects and employing a range of playful visual strategies that use natural light and minimalist settings to evoke a sublime sense of comfort between the human figure and its environment. Her work is natural, restful, and a reinterpretation of the nude in the canon of contemporary art.
For the past two decades, the Los Angeles-based artist's works have been shown steadily, revealing an astonishing consistency in technique, of subject, and of purpose. In 2001, Kuhn’s photographs were first seen by an influential audience during the exhibition at Charles Cowles Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Kuhn’s distinct aesthetic has propelled her as one of the most collectible contemporary art photographers—her work is in private and public collections worldwide, and she is represented by galleries across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
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. Occasionally, Mona teaches at UCLA and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
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 was published by Stanley/Barker Editions in 2018. In 2021, Thames & Hudson published a stunning career retrospective titled Works. Kuhn's most recent publication, Kings Road is published by Steidl with a multi-dimensional debut exhibition at The Arts, Design & Architecture Museum in 2022.
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. Kuhn's work has been exhibited at The Louvre Museum and Le Bal in Paris, The Whitechapel Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London, Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland, Leopold Museum in Vienna, Austria, The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver, Canada, Australian Centre for Photography, and Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan. Mona Kuhn lives and works in Los Angeles.