Landscape 1961

Curator: Welcome. We’re standing before Misch Kohn's "Landscape," a print created in 1961. Editor: My first impression is chaotic, yet calming, which is a curious contrast. The muted greens and oranges blend, but these almost frantic lines crisscrossing the image create this tension. Curator: It’s a strong example of abstract expressionism, typical of its time. After the Second World War, artists turned away from representation. "Landscape" fits into that trend. Look at the relationship between individual artistic expression and collective anxiety during the Cold War era. Editor: Right, and that context really shapes my viewing. I'm wondering about landscape painting as a tradition. Does the abstraction of form perhaps serve as a comment on humankind’s troubled relationship with nature in that era? Is there something deeply cynical, something broken within this image? Curator: Kohn often explored the tensions between individual freedom and social responsibility. He was very committed to progressive causes. He uses abstraction not as an escape from reality, but as a language to represent the complex, and often fragmented, experience of modernity. The material, as a print, reproduces to share this expression as widely as possible. Editor: This image prompts questions about how we understand land, ownership, and the violence inherent in our claims to it. Whose land is being alluded to here? Are we engaging with an unspoken history? Curator: He aimed to engage with his audience on socio-political matters, often using his art as a form of activism. There's this push and pull between an image of tranquil nature and this very raw gestural energy. Editor: A landscape born out of trauma and a radical sense of unease. It still manages to maintain the aesthetic qualities of form and expression. Something very potent there. Thank you for that deep dive. Curator: A pertinent interpretation to contextualize Kohn's practice. It gives much food for thought.