Look Thro' The Trees

Bernard A. Kohn's piece, Look Thro' The Trees, 1945 is an abstract rendering of nature. With no focal point, my eyes move around the canvas. The primary colors really pop out and give off a light and airy feel, describing the outdoors in a colorful way. Summer is the season of this watercolor. The repeating pattern of the trees creates a rhythm, simple and clear. The scale of the trees varies, helping create a sense of space. The entire watercolor is made up of organic shapes and colors.
Born in Philadelphia, Pa in 1905, (died in 1989) Bernard A. Kohn was an artist of wood engravings, watercolors, serigraphs (silk screen printing), gouaches, and drawings. Kohn not only love fine art but he also was a music publisher, loved poetry, dance and to travel. In 1978, he wrote: "I always been deeply involved with the interrelationship of the arts. The starting point of a print or painting- the so called inspiration if you will- often stems from a poem, a dance, a musical work, or the poetic translation of nature into graphic forms."

Prepared by Lydia Johnson, home school student studying the permanent collection at Woodmere Art Museum, 2012

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