BRATTLEBORO — No artist is more closely associated with the landscape of southern Vermont than Wolf Kahn.
Working out of his mountainside farm in West Brattleboro, Kahn has spent the past 43 summers depicting the region's distinctive hills, fields, trees, barns, and colors. He sketches outdoors in pastel and later refines his sketches in the studio.
“Wolf Kahn: Brattleboro Pastels,” on exhibit at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) until February, showcases a sampling of Kahn's 2011 artistic production.
According to BMAC chief curator Mara Williams, “Pastel is Kahn's generative medium.”
In her essay accompanying the new exhibition, she writes, “The mark a pastel stick makes, the way its powder sits on the page, its texture, its effects are the genesis of his painting style.”
For his part, Kahn has referred to the medium as “dust on butterfly wings.”
“The pastels in the exhibition were selected to show a range of artistic concerns and technical sensibilities. Characteristically hovering between abstraction and figuration, Kahn's images are palpably about place, and yet they transcend mere description,” the museum writes in its publicity materials.
The museum's exhibits and gift shop are open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Tuesday and Wednesday. Regular admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for students. Members and children 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
The museum, at the intersection of Main Street (Route 5) and Routes 119 and 142,is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 802-257-0124 or visit its website.