A Philadelphia-born artist, Kohler discovered his love of art in the city’s museums before earning a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His paintings range from portraits and landscapes to purely abstract compositions. Here, however, the subject is unmistakable: a sleepy orange cat curled on a green cushion atop a red armchair. Fiery golden stripes trace the animal’s contours, emphasizing both its languid posture and latent vitality. Capturing cats has long challenged artists—critic Carl Van Vechten once observed that “the beauty of the cat is very deceptive, for under the grace of the furry exterior lie steel-like muscles, [and its] face bears a character of both finesse and hilarity.” Few portraitists, he lamented, “can go beyond externals.” Kohler’s rendering rises to this challenge.
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